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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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LUTHER COLBY, 



BIOGRAPHIC MEMORIAL 



OF 



LUTHER COLBY 

(Founder of The Banner of Light) 



BY 



JOHN W. DAY 



" Tky voice comes down the rolling years 
Like ring of steel on steel ! 
With it I hear the tramp of steeds, 
And the trumpefs silver peal ! 



"* Bzit were the fainting to be raised. 
The sorrowing comforted, — 
The warrior vanished, and men saw 
An Angel stand instead! ' 




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BOSTON, MASS. 
BANNER OF LIGHT PUBLISHING CO. 

No. 9 BoswoRTH Street 

1895 






^^\,T 



Copyright^ i8g^^ 
By JOHN W. DAY. 



ELHCTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY 

S. J. Parkhill & Co., 

BOSTON. 



Dedication. 



To Mr. Isaac B. Rich, the earnest friend and faithful co- 
partner of Mr. Colby for many years j 
To THE Pioneers of Modern Spiritualism, a hardy ruce, 
now passing rapidly to their well-9nerited 
'■'■ guerdon i?t the skies "y 
And to the Youth of the New Dispensation, who are 
reaping in joy what their forbears have sown in tears^ 
and whose faces are now set toward the 
sunlight of world-wide victory : 

Briefly descriptive of an earnest and practical life 
now closed in the mortal^ a7'e lovingly dedicated. 

' /. W. D, 



PREFACE, 



The writer of this unpretentious Memorial was 
closely associated with Luther Colby in various ca- 
pacities — as apprentice, compositor, reporter and as- 
sistant editor — from the very foundation (save one 
month) of the Ban7ier of Light, While the partial 
failure of his eyesight — which necessitated sea voy- 
ages — and the Civil War demanded his attention 
from 1859 to nearly 1867, he was nevertheless con- 
stantly in touch with the establishment. 

He was chosen by Mr. Colby, in 1872, to write 
the biography of Mrs. J. H. Conant, the first me- 
dium for The Banner s public circles ; was trusted 
by him in all ways ; and feels that he has been 
privileged to view the veteran editor in every light. 
These facts seem to be his best apology for present- 
ing this volume, which has for its purpose a simple 
narrative of events transpiring, rather than any at- 
tempt at ornate display of language, — for which duty 
he was testamentarily appointed by his chief. 



8 PREFACE, 

He herewith offers a simple tribute of respectful 
remembrance to Mr. Colby, whom Spirit " Ouina," 
through the mediumship of Mrs. Cora L. V. Rich- 
mond, has truthfully characterized as an " impulsive, 
turbulent, impetuous, childlike, generous, loving and 
noble heart." 



THE DEDICATION OF THE BANNER. 

[The writer of this volume has in the following poem constructed a paraphrase of " Pulaski's 
Banner," which fifty years ago was a favorite among the schoolboy declaimers. He has beaa 
led to do so by an incident in the early history of the Banner of Lights which it is intended 
to illustrate. When the project of establishing The Banner was yet taking form in the minds 
of Mr. Colby and Mr. Berry, at a seance at which both were present, a spirit through the me- 
dium said that a determined leader ^yould be necessary for the purpose in hand! Mr. Colby 
at once replied, in effect, that he would serve the spirit world in such capacity if desired, and 
his brave declaration was at once greeted with the high approbation of the imseen intelligence.] 

When New Truth with morning ray 

Paled tp Massachusetts Bay, — 

Shed its broad'ning splendor down 

On old Trimount's three-hilled crown, 

Where the angels' censer swung, — 

There, before their altar, hung 

New-wrought banner that with prayer 

Had been consecrated there. 

And the spirit-hymn was heard the while. 

Breathed down through a dim, mysterious aisle : 

" Take thy banner ! May it wave 
Proudly o'er the good and brave 
When the battle's distant wail 
Breaks the slumber of earth's vale ; 
When the clarion's music thrills 
To the heart of human ills;- 
When the land in conflict shakes, 
And each strong creed, shivering, breaks. 

"Take thy banner! and beneath 
The war-cloud's encircling wreath 
Guard — till human souls are free! 
Guard it — God will prosper thee ! 



10 INTRO D UCTOR K 

In the dark and trying hour, 

In the sweep of dogma's power, 

In the rush of blinded men. 

His right arm shall guide thee, then! 



"Take thy banner! and if e'er 
Thou shouldst press a soldier's bier, 
And the muffled drum should beat 
To the tread of mournful feet, 
Let this heaven-blest banner be 
Martial cloak and shroud for thee." — 

"And the warrior took that banner proud, 
And it was his martial cloak and shroud!" 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I. 
A Man Child is Born" 15 



CHAPTER II. 
A Soul is Recognized 20 

CHAPTER III. 
The Banner is Unfurled 24 

CHAPTER IV. 
Mr. Colby's Mediumship 29 

CHAPTER V. 
"Gone Home" 38 

CHAPTER YI. 
Tributes. — Prose and Poetic ei 



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BIOGRAPHIC MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 



CHAPTER I. 



A MAN-CHILD IS BORN. 



" Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting ! 
The soul that riseth in us — our life's star — 
Hath had elsewhere its setting, 
And Cometh from afar ! " 

Some time on the 12th of October, 18 14, the inhabitants of 
the then quiet town of Amesbury, Mass., said one to another, 
" A son is born to Captain William and Mrs. Mary 
Colby." 

It was an ordinary statement to make in the history of the 
large-familied New England of the early time ; and the nar- 
rowest bigot of the neighborhood — ■ in equal consonance with 
the most open-hearted onlooker upon human life as it then 
existed in that uneventful settlement and elsewhere — - could 
have drawn no lesson from the event, or sensed in any manner 
the grand prophecy which was involved in the coming of the 
infant stranger, who then once more, as he firmly believed, 
and always declared to the end of his mortal career, took upon 
himself the gradually increasing weight of mental care and 
physical expression which characterize this earthly state, and 
which his spirit had laid down in a previous and widely-dif- 
ferent existence. 

Mr. Colby was born in one of the old-fashioned dwellings 
peculiar to our staid ancestors. A picture of this edifice is 
given on an adjoining page. 



i6 



MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY, 



The writer has the story direct from Mr. Colby's lips that 
his mother desired to name him "Martin Luther," but that 
his father, with a seaman's bluntness, thought that one given 
name was enough for a man to use as a " hailing word " ; 
therefore the '' Martin " was sacrificed, and the plain " Luther " 
became in this instance ao'ain historical. 




MRS. MARY COLBY (Mother of Luther Colby). 
Taken at the age of eighty-three years. 

His mother long survived her husband, and lived to the 
remarkable age of eighty-seven ; during her closing years she 
leaned with loving trust on the generous support of her de- 
voted son. 



At the time Luther Colby set forth consciously upon his 
new round of mortal pilgrimage the theological world was as 
narrow, flat and circumscribed as was the physical world 



"A MAN-CHILD IS BORN^ 1/ 

Genesaically proclaimed with so much unction. The popularly 
accepted creeds set forth an irresponsible Oriental ruler who 
had been somehow ideally enthroned in the skies ; the utter 
worthlessness of " works " ^ that is, a correct moral life — was 
held to by the pastors who pointed with proper partisan em- 
phasis to the transcendent importance of a publicly-expressed 
faith in trinitarian speculations ; and the acceptance of 
such beliefs was held by them as the only escape from " eter- 
nal fire." The chill doctrines of " predestination," " election," 
and " infant damnation " weighed like lead upon the hearts of 
men — though even then the sky of Faith was growing gray 
with a light which men called Unitarianism and Universalism 
— forerunner of -the coming morn of Knowledge. 

How wonderful then, by contrast with the present, the 
work accomplished for human welfare by the great Cause for 
the advancement of which Mr. Colby devoted his life-long 
labors ! Ere his death in the mortal he saw the liberalizing 
process so ramifying among the Evangelical churches that 
save when called upon to ** settle " ministerial candidates, 
or appoint foreign missionaries, their heart-wringing creeds 
are virtually abandoned as to utterance in the pulpits in the 
land. 

The modern traveller who on some pleasant day walks the 
streets of old Plymouth, Mass., and revels in the beauteous 
vision of green trees and pleasant homes — the wide stretches 
of silver sand, the fresh ribbon of blue that old Ocean ever 
draws around the marine front of this historic town — can 
form but slight conception of that hour when upon a barren 
shore, amid the blasts of December and the rush of ice-laden 
waves, a little band of men and women instinct with the pur- 
suit of what to them was a fact divine, landed in the face of 
unknown foes, and among (to them) unproved conditions of 
existence, bearing in their chilled and weary and yet resolute 
hands the hope of a great nation yet to be, and in their hearts, 
as did the Jews of old in the midst of their marching column, 



1 8 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

the Ark of the Covenant of that great continual Promise ta 
the world : "The Truth shall make you Free ! " 

The same traveller on now ascending the wind-swept hill 
whereon the first fort-church was erected (and another near 
by), will find inscribed on tombstone and monument the 
names of those who, in the mortal, dared the wintry deep for 
the freedom of conscience and the soul, but whose ascending 
spirits at last crossed the Atlantic of death to the brighter 
experiences of a Higher Life all undreamed of in their inmost 
conceptions ! Our nation delights to do them honor ! And 
in coming years, of a surety, the race of mankind, freed by 
Spiritualism's brave pioneers from the terror of the grave, 
shall give its soulful gratitude to the few who made known to 
the world by voice, pen and mediumship, the modern revela- 
tion of 1848 — the demonstration^ rather, that "There is no 
death." Such pioneers were called on unquestioningly to 
give up position, popularity, even in many localities the com- 
mon respect of their creed-blinded neighbors, that they might 
foster among men that with which the excarnated ones from 
the Beyond had entrusted them. Chief among those pioneers, 
while Spiritualism shall have existence among men, will be 
remembered the name of Luther Colby 

The infant Colby grew to boyhood, developing gradually 
into vigorous strength and widening mental power. His early 
advantages for education — which were those pertaining to 
the common schools of the period — were fully improved ; and 
he finally took a step forward, associating himself with the 
"art preservative"; entering that grandest of schools, a 
printing-office, from which have graduated some of the fore- 
most intellects of their times. He commenced at the age of 
fifteen his business career, as an apprentice at Exeter, N. H. 

As if to practically acquaint him with the ground over 
which he must travel, and meet the inevitable attacks in after 
years of those who made of the Bible an inerrant and unques- 
tioned fetich, his first important work as a printer was the 



«y^ MAN-CHILD IS BORN:' 1 9 

"setting up," with the aid of a fellow-apprentice, of an edition 
of "■ Scott's Family Bible " and the New Testament. 

Some years were spent in fitting himself for the proper dis- 
charge of his duty in what he then considered his chosen 
avocation in life ; soon after attaining his majority he re- 
moved to Boston (1836) and was attached to the Post, one of 
the leading daily papers there, where he remained for some 
twenty years, passing, during that period, through every grade, 
from the composing to the editorial room. He then left the 
Post for a season of rest from his arduous labors — as he then 
thought — but really in fulfilment of plans which the world 
of spirits had concerning him. 



CHAPTER 11. 

A SOUL IS RECOGNIZED. 

"Dwell no longer in the shadow- 
Where the tomb-walls close around ; 
Rise ! and twine your wreaths of welcome, 
For your 'dead,' your 'lost' are found!" 

— Spirit '■'• Metoka,''' through Mrs. Conanfs mediumship^ 

Up to this time Mr. Colby had felt Httle interest as to a 
future existence. The bent of his mind led him naturally to 
the materialistic side ; and totally unable, as he was, to hold 
mental companionship with the dark views which the theology 
of his time inculcated, he instinctively gave in his adhesion to 
what was then called in the community by the broad and 
generic name of '' infidelity " — then considered by the average 
easy-going citizen to be the most terrible of all offences 
against common morality and sound government. He thought, 
in view of the one-sided ideas of the churchmen, that the 
night of oblivion was a proper surcease of earthly sorrow, and 
became a stanch friend of Mr. J. P. Mendum, the veteran pub- 
lisher of the Bosto7i Investigator, with whom he was once a 
fellow-apprentice ; the friendship they established in early life 
existed between them as long as they both continued in the 
physical form. 

He was also a bosom friend of the late Horace Seaver, the 
fearless editor of the Investigator for so many years. Both 
these old-time friends passed on from the mortal stage before 
him. He was also a pronounced friend and admirer of Rev. 
Abner Kneeland when that gentl-eman was prosecuted in 
Boston for alleged ^'blasphemy," in criticising the then pop- 
ular conception of the deity. 



A SOUL IS RECOGNIZED. 21 

Mr. Colby's rugged independence of thought, and utter 
freedom from all theological taint, fitted his mind, like rich 
virgin soil, to receive the seed of a new revelation which angel- 
workers were about to sow broadcast upon the earth. By 
personal investigation he became convinced of the conscious 
continuity of human life beyond the grave, and the power of 
the excarnated ones to intelligently make their presence 
known — under certain proper but imperative conditions — to 
the dwellers in the mortal form. He zuas brougJit to recognize 
the said within him ; he awoke to the consciousness of a 
broader life, and taking the sword and buckler proffered by 
the spirit armor-bearers, went grandly forth to conquer ! 

There is no need in a volume of this character to recount 
the story of the '' Rochester Jlappings " of 1848. Truth was 
again born in a manger ; the glorious light of proven immor- 
tality streamed out upon the world from beneath the lowly 
roof and the sentinel poplar of Hydesville. Methodism (to 
change the metaphor) — which was itself primarily the result 
of spirit-working upon ministry and people, had become 
stranded on the shoal of popularity — had denied and lost 
"the power" which wrought so mightily with and upon the 
early men of that faith ; and certain spirit intelligences appear 
to have decided to put off from the immovable ship and try to 
reach the heart of modern humanity in the life-boat of the 
Fox family, whose heads, paternal and maternal, were ardent 
disciples of the Wesleyan system. 

From that early beginning the truth made rapid progress 
everywhere — and none too soon, when beneath the blows of 
materialistic doubt, the sneering reports of the learned medical 
dissectors of "the human form divine," and the palsying in- 
fluence of a spiritually-dead clergy, the hope even of immor- 
tality was passing from the world ! Investigators multiplied 
rapidly ; among the earliest in Massachusetts, at least, were 
Dr. Henry F. Gardner, Rev. Allen Putnam, Mr. and Mrs. 
John S. Adams, Deacon Potter, Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Newton, 



22 



MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 



William Berry, Daniel and Mrs. Frances Farrar, Phineas E, 
Gay, and others. Through Mr. Berry's influence, Mr. Colby 
was induced to be present at a Spiritual seance. His initial 




PRESENT CONDITION OF THE FOX COTTAGE. 



circle took place in 1856, in November, at the residence of 
Mrs. Stearns, on Cambridge Street (West End), Boston. . There 
he first met Mrs. J. H. Conant (afterward the medium through 
whom The Bamier Public Free Circles were inaugurated). He 



A SOUL IS RECOGNIZED. 23 

was at once attracted by her remarkable gifts, and strongly 
recommended her to the attention of Mr. Berry, who subse- 
quently secured Mrs. Conant as the medium for a series of 
seances at his residence in North Cambridge, Mass. The 
most remarkable manifestations of spirit power, made alike on 
the physical and mental planes of demonstration, occurred at 
these meetings, which were held weekly. 

If Mary Colby was the earthly mother of the investigating 
Luther, Mrs. J. H. Conant speedily proved the maternal 
ancestor of his spirit-consciousness — since by the revelations 
given through her organism at these seances he was convinced 
— abandoning his bold agnosticism regarding the future of 
man, and taking fast hold on the truth that now appealed to 
his newly-recognized soul as a revelation from beyond the 
river of death ! 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BANNER IS UNFURLED. 

"Then- up with Truth's Banner — 
Let Vict'ry's winds fan her; 
She has borne her bright message 

To earth's every shore ! 
In peace we'll attend her — 
In battle defend her 
With heart and with hand 
Like our fathers of yore." 

Mr. Berry was told in the winter of 1856 that he would 
soon change his business, publish a paper to be called the 
Banner of Light, in the interests of the New Revelation, and 
be associated with Mr. Colby and others in its conduct, — all 
these predictions, made through Mrs. Conant's mediumship by 
invisible intelligences, proving historically true. 

The object of The Banner s establishment was thus clearly 
set forth in its prospectus : 

The spiritual manifestations now being developed demand a vehicle of 
communication which all will respect; and the faster good organs are 
multiplied, the better will it be for man and truth. While the world has 
sheets innumerable wherein are advocated the perishing interests of Time, 
it is important, nay, indispensable, that Truth should have its journals 
also — equal in point of mental and typographical merit to any — which 
plead and set forth the demands and developments of Eternity. . . . The 
Banner of Light has not been started without careful thought and prepa- 
ration. It is in obedience to voices, nay, commands from on high, that its 
publication has been determined upon ; and every confidence is felt that 
great support will be extended, from regions of Light, to render it an in- 
strument of good to man. We know that this must be the case, for the 
evidetice presented admits of no doubt or question. In obedience, there- 
fore, to a company on high, the BaJiner of Light is to be unfurled. 



THE BANNER IS UNFURLED. 25 

i 
The first issue of The Banner ^'d.?^ brought out at No. 17 
Washington Street (old number), April 11, 1857, by a firm 
bearing the title "Luther Colby & Co." It will be seen 
that the promises made to the original publishers by their in- 
visible prompters were fully kept. 

Mr. Colby, from the time of taking up the duty laid down 
by the spirit counsellors was, till his passage to the Higher 
Life, indefatigable in its every discharge. 

The Bajiners chief effort has always been to emphasize the 
fact that the mission of Modern Spiritualism is not the organ- 
ization of a new sect, nor the special separation of its believers 
from the rest of the world by party lines, but rather to furnish 
a spiritual solvent, in which the existing forms of eschatologi- 
cal thought are to be saturated, illumination taking the place 
of gloom as the result. To the harmonious outworking of this 
early ideal Mr. Colby ever directed his energies. In the 
early days of the spiritual movement he was called upon for 
the sake and in defence of the Cause, to withstand alike the 
attacks of the bigoted clergymen, and the gibes of sceptical 
laymen ; even Harvard College itself did not shrink from at- 
tempting (though vainly) the task of shutting out the new 
light ; but he remained firm, in the face of most trying con- 
ditions, and with the support of his spiritual coadjutors, con- 
tinued at all times true to his colors. 

The history of the Banner of Light as a bold, honest and 
unselfish advocate of spirit-return and communion is before 
the world, and can speak always for itself. Since its inaugu- 
ration it has found its way all over the globe wherever the 
English language is known. It has experienced the usual 
vicissitudes incident to business life. Its original firm of 
publishers changed in time to Berry, Colby & Co. ; at the 
period of the civil war the financial condition of the nation, 
generally, found its counterpart in that of this paper. The 
Baniier was then issued at No. 3 1-2 Brattle Street, but busi- 



26 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

ness straits drove its publishers into a failure, which necessi- 
tated going through bankruptcy. Mr. Berry, after some pre- 
liminary movements, embarked on the sanguinary flood of the 
civil conflict, became an officer in a Salem, Mass., contingent, 
and fell, bravely fighting at the head of his command, at the 
battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, 1862. 

The paper was revived, as to publication, by the late Wil- 
liam White (then State printer of Massachusetts), and under 
the firm name of William White & Co. — Messrs. Isaac B. 
Rich, Luther Colby and Charles H. Crowell being co-partners 
— was continued at 158 Washington Street (old number). 

The great and historic fire of 1872, which wrought such 
widespread destruction in Boston, burned the Parker Building, 
158 Washington Street, where The Banner W3.s located; and 
but little was left to its publishers out of the ruin save a 
reduced insurance, the name of the paper, and their estab- 
lished mercantile reputation. 

Some idea of the extent of this disaster to the publishers 
may be gained by the following extract from the '' Report of 
the Boston Banner Relief Committee " issued November 23, 
1872: 

Consulting with the proprietors of The Banner, we learn that their loss 
has been as follows : 

Value of books burned, lowest wholesale price $26,000 

Loss of composing-room 3)S00 

Loss of mailing-machine, etc. ........ 1,100 

Loss of circle-room pictures, furniture, etc 1,000 

Loss of office furniture, safe, etc. IjSoo 

Subsequent loss by fire at Messrs. Rand, Avery & Co.'s establishment 2,000 

Total, ^35,100 

Amount of insurance, $20,000, of which probably thirty per cent., or 
|6,ooo will eventually be obtained ; leaving a net total loss of about 
$30,000. 

This report was signed by H. F. Gardner, M.D., Chairman, 
Phineas E. Gay, George A. Bacon, Daniel Farrar, L. A. 



THE BANNER IS UNFURLED. 27 

Bigelow, Lizzie Doten, George W. Smith, Edward Haynes, 
Emma Hardinge-Britten, John Wetherbee, and others of the 
Music Hall Society. 

The greatest sympathy (backed by pecuniary means) was 

aroused all over the country by the fate which had overtaken 

the paper ; and this feeling may be said to be crystallized in 

the following poem, published in the '' B miner of Light Ap- 

J)eaV' of November 26, 1872 : 

OUR BANNER. 

BY R. AUGUSTA WHITING. 

Shall it not wave again ? — Banner of Light ! 
With record so glorious, with prospect so bright 1 
Oh ! shall it not rise from that smoldering pyre, 
Where it sank overwhelmed by the demon of fire ? 

Shall it not wave again ? — Banner of Truth ! 
Consoling our aged ones, guarding our youth 
From dangers that lurk 'neath the falsehood and guile 
Of sirens that mock, and of tempters that smile ? 

Shall it not wave again ? — Banner of Peace ! 
And love that is brotherly? Say, shall it cease 
Its angel-blest guidance and help to bestow 
On the lone ones that wander in darkness below ? 

Shall it not wave again ? — Banner of Joy ! 
That darkness and death have no power to destroy ; 
That pointeth the mourner beyond the dark tide. 
To the brightness in store on the ever-green side ? 

Shall it not wave again ? — Banner of Hope ! 

Still leading us onward with error to cope ; 

To battle all tyranny, strong in the right. 

That shall conquer at last in the struggle with might ? 

Yes, it shall wave again ! Safe from the ire. 

The wide-wasting wrath of the demon of fire, 

Our Phoenix shall rise like a purified soul, 

That through trial and triumph attains its heart's goal. 



28 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY, 

Yes, it shall wave again ! Breezes more fair 
Than ever yet wafted its folds on the air 
Shall caress it, when, risen from ashes and flame, 
It shall shine like a gem on the breast-plate of fame. 

Again shall its " Light " re-illume the glad earth 
With bright rays of knowledge, with teachings of worth ; 
For the word has gone forth, over mountain and sea, 
Our " Banner " shall wave ! 'Tis the will of the free ! 

Through the aid of generous friends and subscribers, the 
stricken firm at once set themselves at work to re-issue the 
paper, and took temporary headquarters at No: 14 Hanover 
Street. 

On the 26th of April, 1873, Mr. William White suddenly 
passed to spirit life, at the age of sixty years — from heart- 
failure ; and the paper has since been brought out under the 
style of Colby & Rich. 

In the autumn of 1873 the publication office of TJie Banner 
was removed to No. 9 Bosworth Street (then Montgomery 
Place), a location which had been purchased and specially 
fitted up for the purpose by its business manager, Isaac B. 
Rich. From this place it still continues to make its appear- 
ance regularly. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MR. Colby's mediumsijip. 

" Alas ! faint hearts, who are longing ever 
On the lofty mountain tops to stand, 
Instead of making a brave endeavor 

To climb the hills that are close at hand : 
If we brighten one life that had else been dreary, 

If we help one soul to be strong and true ; 

Our hearts may sing though our feet be weary. 

We are doing the work that is ours to do." 

— The htdian Helper. 

Mr. Colby was, from the first, aided in his labors by un- 
seen powers. He was — and willingly acknowledged it — in 
an especial sense cared for by the Invisible Workers in the 
Higher Life, and was himself endowed with a mediumship — 
involving the clairvoyant, impressional and automatic writing 
phases — which as to its results often called out the wonder 
and astonishment of his friends and co-workers in the mortal. 

The present writer is cognizant of many instances in proof 
of this assertion, one of the most direct being the following : 
The Rev. Allen Putnam (now ascended to the reward of a 
brave and useful life on earth) and myself were one day present 
in The Bajiner editorial rooms, considering with Mr. Colby 
some matter bearing on the Cause ; the visit being at an end, 
he (Putnam) started to go from the room ; when he had 
reached the door, Mr. Colby suddenly called upon him to 
stop, adding, '' Your spirit friends wish you to sell [certain 
railroad stocks, which he named] at once." Mr. Putnam, who, 
perhaps by reason of its suddenness, did not attach suflficient 
faith to the warning, afterward told the Avriter and Mr. Colby, 
too, that had he acted on the injunction thus enunciated, he 
would have been greatly benefited financially. 



30 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY, 

Mr. Colby's mediumship often manifested itself in quaint 
and original impressions of men, things and events. It was 
also in obedience to its promptings, aided by those of Mrs. 
Conant, that the Banner of Light Free Public Circles were 
undertaken at the National House, Boston, in the first year 
of the paper's existence. He, in obedience to the same 
promptings, formed that other agency of so great and extended 
usefulness, ''The God's Poor Fund " of The Bmtner — aid from 
which in the past years has been extended to worthy parties 
all over this continent. In the same way he was led to estab- 
lish the " Editor-at-Large " project, by which for several years 
money was raised whereby the late Prof. S. B. Brittan was 
secured to answer attacks made in the secular press on 
Spiritualism and its advocates^ Through a like prompting he 
was led, in the second year of The Bannej' s existence, to antic- 
ipate the modern custom of printing the full reports of ser- 
mons of popular divines in the columns of the weekly press 
outside that of their special denominational groups ; this plan 
he followed with the greatest success — the pastors selected 
being Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and Rev. E. H. Chapin of 
New York. He may be said to have been among the very 
first, if not the founder of this custom ; and as long as he was 
allowed the privilege of , taking verbatim the reports of these 
sermons, he proceeded to work up the circulation of The 
Banner to a remiarkable figure. The right, however, when it 
was discovered to have a market value, was taken from him 
(though for no alleged fault in these reports) and given to a 
religio-secular daily of Boston, then making great efforts to 
enlarge its edition. 

The following sketch of Mr. Colby's nature, as psycho- 
metrically revealed, was made by that renowned medium, Mrs. 
C. M. Decker, of New York (afterward Mrs. J. R. Buchanan), 
at the request (so an indorsement found upon it states) of 
Charles R. Miller, on the 15th of September, 1879. 

Mr. Miller, being on a visit to the lady regarding some inde- 



MR. COLBY'S MEDIUMSHIP. 3 1 

pendent spirit writings, asked her to examine a letter he had 
just received from Mr. Colby — though he did not inform her 
who was the author of the letter. Mr. Miller transcribed her 
reading verbatim^ and sent it to Mr. Colby. He who was 
described and she who psychometrized have now both gone to 
the home of the spirit. 

'"This is not a spirit [she had just been reading spirit- 
writing]. This man is largely spiritual. I feel a spiritual 
elevation. This person is developed in the region of the 
spiritual. I feel that this is a man ; a great amount of business 
talent ; a great amount of writing talent. I should think he 
was a journalist, or newspaper man; he knows how to take 
care of himself. He is not to be thrust aside ; when he wants 
to say or do a thing he says and does it — a fearless character. 
He writes better than he talks ; he thinks rapidly, and writes 
better than he speaks. When he writes he is controlled by 
spirits, and is very mediumistic. This man has a great deal 
to do with people; has a great many subjects and people to 
deal with ; he is well sustained, and has a great number of 
friends ; he works hard. 

** * I think he is an American, but, at the same time, his 
writing, correspondence and work extend across the water, 
and to other countries ; his writings and labors are widely 
extended; subjects from his paper are read and translated 
into other languages. There is a great deal of spiritual faith 
and trust in this man. He has an advanced female spirit 
around him that does a great deal of good ; he needs it, too. 

" ' If you know this man, he is a good friend — he is a good 
friend of yours. This man is not dictatorial in his writings, 
rather mild and genial ; he prefers not to mix up with the 
wrangle of life : he is sometimes drawn into it, but keeps as 
clear of it as he can ; he is a character that most people like 
to deal with, as he throws around them a spirit of geniality and 
confidence. Nothing grieves this man more than to make a 
retraction from any misstatement that may have been given 
him. He would be likely to scold a little about that, but he 



32 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

has usually an equanimity of disposition. There is very much 
to the man ; he is not a politician in the common sense ; he 
would like to see good government, and to contribute to it ; 
but he is discriminating, and would not mix up with current 
politics ; he would not use his pen in that direction. No. 

" ' His character is one that does not decide hastily on any 
question or problem that comes before him ; he would revolve 
it in his mind and weigh it decidedly before publishing. This 
man as a publisher would consult all sources of information 
before deciding. He is exceedingly conscientious, and is a 
great stickler for the truth ; he has not an enthusiastic nature 
— more earnestness than enthusiasm in his nature. 

" ' Physically, I should say this person was stout, solidly 
built. I see a form as large or larger than you are, and a man 
that would be likely to hold on to life for many years. I don't 
see any physical disarrangement, except a fulness about the 
head and back base of brain. This may result from over- 
tasking the brain. 

"■ * To sum it all up, this is a grand and good spirit, and one 
that is calculated to give and receive pleasure in this life. 
There seems to me some approaching change connected with 
him, but can't tell what it is. I see a long avenue before me ; 
on the road I see a great many stumps, broken branches and 
ragged appearances, but on the other side is freshness and 
uniformity, which I interpret as indications of success and 
prosperity.' " 

The medial outreaching from Mr. Colby to the sensitives 
of the country brought to them oftentimes strength in trial — 
and on repeated occasions a return tide of appreciation. 
Among his papers (as an instance) the following letter was 
found by the author of this memorial — bearing the endorsed 
date of September i8, 1883. Old Spiritualists on reading it 
will recognize the name of Ed. S. Wheeler as that of a fore- 
most champion of the Cause ; he was then near the mystic 
line, beyond which he soon after passed to the brighter land. 



MR. COLBY'S MEDIUMSHIP. 33 

On the Boundary. 

I am where I can look on both countries, and I see the business of 
both. Never ! Never ! ! Never ! ! ! doubt that you are guided and that 
you are cared for personally. The true intent and purpose may not al- 
ways find its complete and perfect interpretation, but the master of the 
storm will succeed in directing the course, not only of your own life but of 
the great enterprise of which you have so long been a part. Tempest 
threatens, clouds darken, and in your great physical weakness you almost 
despair. Stand firm, this late hour; the elements of nature are in sym- 
pathy with your purpose and that of those in whose loving care you make 
your advance. Truth shall triumph ; your guides shall screen you from 
every infernal thunderbolt. . . . 

Whether I return, remain in the body and meet you again face to face, 
or pass within the veil to the land so inviting to the heart-sick and weary, 
remains equally probable ; in either case, I am and shall be, as for so 
many years, in heart-felt sympathy. 

Your sincere friend, 

Ed. S. Wheeler. 

This feeling also found utterance in the following lines, in 
appreciation of his life services, by Mrs. Emma Tuttle (con- 
tributed to The Banner tor November 5, 1892), which may be 
regarded as the concentred expression, by a spiritually-minded 
and prescient authoress, of the recognition of his services 
which after-years shall fully bring : 

THE BANNER BEARER OF SPIRITUALISM. 



TO LUTHER COLBY, ESQ., ON HIS BIRTHDAY. 



His hair is white, his soul is white ; 

Truth lights his earnest face. 
Halt, crowding infantry! fall back, 

And give the veteran place. 

Straight as a forest pine he stands, 

Meeting unflinchingly 
The storms of winds or human minds, 

Rushing in madness by. 



34 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

His ears are catching high commands, 

Outspoken from the skies ; 
His Banner gvv&s them to the world 

To read, and thus grow wise. 

Long may our veteran worker live, 

Our growing ranks to lead ; 
Long may our heads and hearts incline 

His strong commands to heed. 
Berlin Heights, O. Emma Rood Tuttle. 

In the same vein a prominent man among the old-time 
workers once wrote to him : 

You are eminently a man of heart; your influence upon your readers 
through your paper is of far higher quality and more telling in its effects, 
as the predominating, influence is 2^ germinal on^. Your readers get your 
magnetism and it acts like spiritual leaven upon them ; they become edu- 
cated by absorption, no matter if their eyes do not take in your words ; 
the old family feeling comes upon them when they open The Baiiner. 

Concerning Mr. Colby's mediumship, and the open and 
willing generosity with which he instantly yielded to his im- 
pressions, Dr. J. M. Peebles, of San Diego, Cal., known in 
all lands as " The Spiritual Pilgrim," thus .testifies in a me- 
morial letter written to The Banner: 

" The real goodness of Brother Colby was not understood as it should 
have been by many Spiritualists," wrote Brother Moses Hull to me last 
week, adding, " When I was once in straitened financial circumstances he 
took from his purse fifty dollars and handed me, with the remark, ' Say 
nothing about it!" Now that he has passed up, on to the beautiful high- 
lands of immortality, it can do no harm to mention it," 

How vividly do I remember of once sitting by him when opening his. 
morning pile of letters. Sensing the invisible aura he would say, inspira- 
tionally and psychometrically, " This is a good woman and a good medium." 
" This man is always in trouble, and he seems to want to throw it on to 
me." " This man is angry because I don't publish his long communica- 
tion." " This brother has half-a-dozen different controls, and is all mixed 
up. He is a good-hearted man; I must write to him." And so through 
the pile, without opening, would he read the spirit, if not the very word- 
ins: of the letters. 



MR. COLBY'S MEDIUMSHIP. 35 

Once, I remember, when annoyed by reported exposures and mediumis- 
tic idiosyncrasies, and exclaiming " These inharmonies will wear me out," 
he seized his pencil and wrote, automatically, these words : " The day suc- 
ceeds the night, the spring the winter; all will be well in the end, Luther." 
He immediately brightened up, saying, " That's Berry; it sounds just like 
him." The same day I saw him hand a poor mediumistic woman a five- 
dollar gold piece ; and in the afternoon, walking with him to the post- 
office, I saw him enclose a twenty-five-dollar post-office order to a poor 
strugghng young medium in Michigan, Mr. — . He is yet in the Spirit- 
ualist lecture field. And yet some Spirituahsts wonder " why the Ba7iiier 
of Light is not rich ! " 

George A. Bacon, of Washington, D. C, a close friend of 
Mr. Colby for many years, bore witness as follows on this 
topic, in his memorial letter to The Ba7i7ier : 

Few, even of those who thought they knew him intimately, reahzed the 
glorious measure of his mediumship. Instead of seeking its display, he 
guarded it with almost sacred modesty. Scores of instances, extending 
over many years, occurring when least expected, and under every conceiv- 
able condition, are personally known to me, which if related would nat- 
urally bewilder the reader, so startling were many of these manifestations. 

To illustrate his intense sensitiveness one instance will suffice. Quietly 
sitting with him one day in his editorial room, which was on the third 
floor, he suddenly arose from his desk, and began to stride up and down 
the room under great excitement, storming with angry feelings, to which 
he gave vent. Resuming his seat after awhile he calmly began writing 
again, when he turned and asked, " What does all this mean ? " I replied, 
" Perhaps it will explain itself." In the course of a few minutes a rap at 
the door, and a visitor entered, which did solve the problem. This 
pseudo-friend was a chronic critic of microscopical characteristics, whose 
sense of his own personal importance filled the universe. Voluble, com- 
plaining, assertive, tiresome, he had called to relieve his fault-finding spirit, 
and the sensitive editor had unwittingly sensed the man's antagonism the 
instant he entered the office, ten minutes before he appeared upstairs. 

No more consistent or truer friend to mediums ever wielded pen or 
raised a voice in behalf of these sensitives than this same sturdy man, 
who by gift of organization was a representative of this very class. 

Mr. Colby was wont, on occasion, to *' dash off" impromptu, 
sonnet-like productions, akin to the subjoined — sometimes 



36 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

signing them '' Digby," and at others with his name or initials. 
They may be regarded as the cropping out of a poetic vein in 
his nature which the circumstances of his career prevented a 
following up to any extent : 

ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS. 

" Art is long and life is short," 
Is what Digby has been taught ; 
Now he strives with great endeavor 
To prove that man doth live forever. 
Here we stay a certain time, 
Then pass to a finer clime — 
Evidence of this appears 
After unbelief of years — ■ 
Where each soul a home shall find 
Smoothly suited to his mind. 

Digby. 

JE-HO-VAH. 

Within the holy realm of deepest thought. 
Where Wisdom's precepts are so fully taught, 
Resides a Band of Oriental Seers, 
Whose lives are measured by unnumbered years. 
Here beauteous flowers of every form and hue 
Glisten in brightness with the morning dew, 
Emitting odors of such rare perfume 
That keep them ever constantly in bloom. 
This is the land Celestial — this the Throne 
Which wafts its wisdom unto every zone ; 
This, too, doth guide each planet in its course 
From which the spheres derive their mighty force. 
This is the Godhead ! — this the realm of law — • 
From which all Nature doth its incense draw : 
This much I know ! — and, knowing, know no more ! 
And that is why Je-ho-vah I adore. 

Luther Colby. 

Mr. Colby's mental characteristics, displayed by him to the 
very close of his life in the mortal — his faith in the ultimate 



MR. COLBY'S MEDIUMSHIP. 37 

triumph of the Cause, his determined combativeness in its 
defence, his willingness to be guided at all times by the gentle 
voices of the invisible ones speaking to his inner ear — may 
be likened to those in the old Indian tale of " The Standard 
Bearer " : It is related that an old elephant was engaged in a 
battle on the plains of India. He carried on his back the 
royal ensign, the rallying-point of the host. At the beginning 
of the fight his driver was killed : he had given the elephant 
the word to halt w^hen he received the fatal wound. The 
obedient beast stood still while the battle closed around him 
and the standard he carried. He never stirred a foot, refusing 
to advance or retire, as the conflict became hotter and fiercer, 
until the Mahrattas, seeing the standard still flying steadily in 
its place, refused to believe that they were beaten, and rallied 
again and again round the colors. 

All this while, amid the din of battle, the patient animal 
stood straining its ears to catch the sound of that voice it 
would never hear again. At length the tide of conquest left 
the field deserted. The Mahrattas swept on in pursuit of the 
foe, but the elephant stood immovable, with the ensign waving 
in its place. No bribe or threat could move it from the posi- 
tion it had been ordered to occupy. They finally sent to a 
distant village and brought the driver's little son. The noble 
beast seemed then all at once to remember how the driver, his 
master, had sometimes given his authority to the little one, 
and immediately, with all the shattered trappings clanging as 
he went, he paced quietly and slowly from the field of battle 
under the guidance of a child ! 



CHAPTER V, 



GONE HOME. 



'' The rest that earth denied is thine ; 

Ah, is it rest, we ask. 
Or, traced by knowledge more divine, 

Some larger, nobler task ? 
Enough ; there is a world of love ; 

No more we ask to know ; 
The hand will guide thy ways above 

That shaped thy task below ! " 

Mr. Colby, the veteran Banner of Light editor, as you know has 
crossed the peaceful river, and joined the multitude of the immortals. So 
pass my old compeers, one by one — Judge John W. Edmonds, Robert 
Dale Owen, William Denton, A. E. Newton, S. B. Brittan, Epes 
Sargent, Henry Kiddle, Dr. Crowell, and now Luther Colby, 
mourned by thousands upon thousands of Spiritualists. — J. M. Peebles, 
in London Mediu77i and Daybreak. 

The author of this Memorial wrote for and published in 
The Banner for October 13, 1894, a leading editorial titled as 
above, the significance of vv^hich, at least, he feels, pierced to 
the heart of every Spiritualist wherever the New Revelation 
has a name among men : 

" It becomes the duty of The Banner to announce to its 
many readers in every civilized land beneath the sun, the 
demise of its Founder and Senior Editor, Luther Colby. 

" No announcement of his sickness has been made in these 
columns, because of the direct wish of the sufferer, who, till a 
short time before his passage from the mortal, had the hope 
that the power of will, and a naturally strong constitution, 
would once more place him on his feet among men. It is 
only just to state, however, that for nearly two years past Mr. 



''GONE HOMEr 39 

Colby has felt the depressing influence of age, and has been 
fain, perforce, to yield the larger portion of his former labors 
to younger hands. . . . 

''The event which must come to all finally drew near; and 
at five o'clock on the morning of Sunday, October 7th, just 
five days before the completion of his eightieth year, he 
entered Higher Life from the Crawford House, Scollay 
Square, Boston, which had been his home for some twelve 
years past. 

" He was cared for during his last illness of nearly two 
months, by Mrs. W. P. Thaxter, of Boston (wife of Mr. W. P. 
Thaxter of the Crawford), who exhibited to the aged sufferer 
all the tender sympathy and loving care which a daughter 
could have displayed, though no blood relationship existed 
between them. We are sure that our readers — the elderly 
men and women, especially, who have followed Mr, Colby's 
worK from the days of their youth — will feel to join with us 
in the expression of reverent thanks to this grand trance 
medium, who willingly closed her office and abandoned her 
own special work, to smooth the path of this wounded veteran 
soldier of the Truth toward 'the narrow way that leadeth to 
the Paradise of God.' 

" Mr. Colby was never married. He leaves one brother, 
Moses L., who, with Mr. Y. F. Morrill (son of his old friend, 
the late ex-Senator George W. Morrill, of Amesbury, Mass.), 
aided by his bedside. 

" The Banner s leader (March 10, 1894) announcing the com- 
mencement of Volume LXXV, had this sturdy sentence, which 
its newly-arisen senior editor may now, by the prescient ear, 
be heard avowing to mortals from beyond the veil : ' The 
years hasten to the century's close. It matters little where or 
how we work, but work we assuredly shall, as a living inheri- 
tor of the great Kingdom of Truth, that is without end ! ' " 

The announcement of the demise of Mr. Colby drew forth 
many appreciative tributes from the press of Boston — the 
Globe, Journal, Advertiser^ Post, Herald, etc. Respectful and 



40 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

appreciative mention was also made concerning his transition 
by the Spiritualist and Reformatory press of England, the 
Continent, Australia and America. 

The Boston Daily Globe, in the course of a lengthy editorial 
bearing upon his history and decease, said : 

His form was erect to the last, though he bowed his head slightly as if 
in deep thought. His face was ruddy and his eye bright when last seen 
upon the street, about three months ago. . . . 

He was in many ways a remarkable man. He remained at his editorial 
post until close to the last. It was always a desire of his that he should 
" die in harness." . . . 

He was well known to all Spiritualists in Boston, and, of course, to 
thousands who came to visit this Mecca of Spiritualism, but he also came 
into contact with millions of Spiritualists through his paper, and by the 
large majority of these he was looked upon with reverence. . . . He 
lived in the realm of spiritual enfoldment. He believed that he was the 
message-bearer of the angels, or, as he would say, the instrument of tlie 
spirits. . . , 

Under this inspiration he becam.e the spiritual friend and teacher of 
thousands of men and women who only knew him through the Banner of 
Light. To many thousands of his readers, Luther Colby was prophet 
and priest, and the utterances of The Banner were regarded as infallible. 

One secret of Mr. Colby's success as an editor was his reputation as 
an honest believer in Spiritualism and his adherence to what he felt to be 
the truth. In recent years his editorial labors were not so arduous as 
those of his early manhood, but the old pioneer spiritual paper has always 
borne the name of Luther Colby as editor. . . . 

He was a manly man, a laborious worker, charitable and generous, 
frank and open-hearted, a devoted son and a faithful friend. 

The Boston Daily Post, with which his young manhood was 
so closely identified, bore this among other tributes to his 
memory : 

Thoroughly honest in his personal belief in the phenomena of Spirit- 
ualism, he was able to exert an influence which has spread far and wide 
with marvellous results. His sincerity was unquestioned and undoubted. 
He had the respect of the public, the confidence of all with whom he was 
brought in contact. And his services in the cause of Spiritualism are 
recognized as those of an honest man, honestly striving for principle. 



''GONE home: 



41 



THE OBSEQUIES. 

On Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 1894, the spacious 
auditorium of the First Spiritual Temple, erected by Mar- 




FIRST SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. 

cellus S. Ayer, of Boston, at the corner of Exeter and Newbury 
Streets, was the scene of the funeral rites held in grateful 
remembrance of Mr. Colby's work when in the mortal, and 
in respect to the physical tenement wherefrom his enfran- 
chised spirit had arisen to the outworking of new demands 
upon its energies. 



42 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

The Spiritual Fraternity Society, through Mr. Ayer, placed 
the Temple in the hands of the Committee of Arrangements ; 
and a large assemblage of people, including representatives of 
nearly every form of religious belief or non-belief in the 
community, convened to join in the silent expression which 
their presence involved, that they had lost a friend, a helper, 
or one in whom their respect was strongly centred. 

Moses L. Colby (the only surviving brother), and other rel- 
atives, were of the assemblage. 

Among others in attendance were Isaac B. Rich, part- 
ner of the deceased, and Mrs. Rich ; John W. Day, editor of 
the Banner of Lights an associate with Mr. Colby for the 
past twenty-seven years ; Mr. F. F. Morrill, of Amesbury, son 
of his old friend, the late ex-Senator George W. Morrill; 
Charles McArthur of New York, a faithful co-worker for 
years ; Mr. and Mrs. W. R Thaxter ; Mr. and Mrs. S. H. 
Bradley ; Mr. Charles J. Rich ; Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Mount- 
ford ; Mrs. B. F. Smith, medium of TJie Banner s Message 
Department ; Mr. and Mrs. William S. Butler ; Charles G. 
Wood and wife ; W. N. Eayrs, foreign translator for The Ba7t- 
ner ; Mrs. J. K. D. Conant ; William Harris, manager of the 
Columbia Theatre ; Mr. Simeon Snow; Mr. J. Frank Baxter; 
Mr. M. S. Ayer ; Henry Goodwin, of the Crawford House, 
where for so many years Mr. Colby majie his home ; Charles 
W. Sullivan ; Mrs. Sarah A. Byrnes ; Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin 
Loring ; Mrs. Carrie M. Sawyer ; Mrs. Dr. Shaw ; Mr. Alonzo 
Danforth ; Mr. C. Frank Whittaker ; Dr. J. A. Shelhamer; 
Dr. W. A. Towne ; Mr. and Mrs. Lewis ; Mrs. M. A. Wilkin- 
son, President of Hollis Hall Society ; Mrs. A. E. Barnes, of 
the Ladies' Aid Society ; Professor and Mrs. Longley ; Mr. 
and Mrs. Jones ; L. L. Whitlock ; and Mrs. Hattie Stafford- 
Stansbury. 

The floral offerings made on the occasion were many in 
number, and elegant in character. 

A voluntary by George H. Rider, organist of the Temple, 
opened the exercises, at 2.30 o'clock, after which Lyman C. 



'^GONE home:' 43 

Howe, of Fredonia, N. Y., who was then speaking for the 
Society, offered an invocation. 

Mrs. Hattie E. Dodge, the Temple's soloist, then rendered 
touchingly the Spiritual song: "Only a Thin Veil between 
Us." 

Dr. H, B. Storer, the veteran Spiritualist speaker of Boston, 
then made introductory remarks, and delivered the address ; 
his words being marked by deep feeling as to enunciation, and 
receiving the evident acceptance of responsive hearts : 



The old, old fashion of death has passed upon our friend, and the body 
that has served him well, having become at last an encumbrance, may be 
put away. Less enduring than the shadow of it cast by the camera upon 
the plate, it is the least valuable of ail the spirit's possessions. We think 
of it as wonderfully made, passing all human skill or human knowledge, 
and yet destined at the last, as all mere instruments are destined, to pass 
away after its uses have been served. And therefore, concerning the 
body, it matters little how it shall be bestowed ; if it be buried, as has 
been the custom for ages, beneath the soil, and there be dissolved into 
the elements by the process of decay, away from the sight of men, or 
whether it be dissolved more speedily by cremation, as was the wish of 
our friend, it shall be rendered at last into impalpable powder, and it is a 
matter of little concern what the process may be. It may be a matter of 
sentiment, with many it is a matter of choice ; but whatever the disposi- 
tion of the body may be, it is less than nothing as compared with the 
resurrection of the man himself from the encumbrances of the body. And 
therefore to-day, dear friends, if any of you feel like going down into the 
grave with the body, it is only because your mortality hugs you close ; it 
is because you have not yet become accustomed to separate those thoughts 
of yourself from this garment you wear — from this body that serves your 
uses. It has been a clear perception of seers that so far as the outer 
garment was concerned, it is less than nothing as compared with the 
development of those interior graces that pertain to the spirit. How dif- 
ferent the signification of this event in the public mind from that which 
prevailed fourscore years ago, when our friend was born. Then Death 
was the king of terrors; then the spirit-world was an undiscovered 

* This address, which is given in full, appeared in the Banner of Light for 
October 20, 1S94, as also did the other speeches which are here necessarily con- 
densed. 



44 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

country; then the condition of the soul was problematical, and in the 
absence of all knowledge, human speculation drew its pictures of the 
future life in the most sombre colors, because men took counsel of their 
fears rather than their hopes. Being imperfect themselves, they felt that 
the Being whom they professed to believe was the author of all good was 
himself capable of petty passions and the imperfections of our human 
nature, and therefore they could see nothing beyond the grave except the 
possibility of torture; perhaps, mercifully perhaps, annihilation; but they 
could not look up trustingly and see the Beauty of that Being, typified in 
the loveliness which we find in nature, and the affection which is mani- 
fested in so many forms. No, they had not attained that sweet confidence 
in the infinite goodness of God which we enjoy in these latter days. It 
was simply a belief that in meeting God they were to meet a great judge 
who was perfect ; that with all their imperfections on their heads they 
were to meet a perfect Being. Under such circumstances who could do- 
otherwise than to dread death ? It was into such an atmosphere and inta 
such a sphere of belief that our friend was born eighty years ago. 

Fortunately, he does not seem as a boy to have inherited any tendency 
to superstition, to dogmatism and theological conceit. Marked out, as he 
undoubtedly was, for a career of usefulness, which is illustrated by his 
whole life, he was permitted to be unhindered by any such burden upon 
his spirit. He was of a genial nature, loved by his comrades and loving 
them. After leaving the public schools, where the rudiments of education 
were taught, he entered upon the study of that profession, if I may so call 
it, in which he engaged in after years. He entered the best college that 
exists among m.en, the printing office; because in the printing-office less 
care is given to the mere technical details of acquirement ; it is not the 
memory that is cultivated only, but especially the printing-office develops, 
a knowledge of events of human life, and every process of the compositor 
is a constant criticism, and he is steadily being educated upon the very 
sentences that he is putting in type. As they pass before him his mind 
discerns the imperfection, if there be such, and when a thought is 
felicitously expressed, some idea bursts upon him, and as he proceeds he 
enjoys fully whatever is presented ; his mind enlarges, his sphere of 
thought increases, he is led to study and investigate. The printer and the 
editor are the best types to-day of educated men. And I say this, be- 
cause I realize that our friend's education was not after the standard 
methods. He constantly rose in this profession from the time he first 
entered it, when he was fifteen years of age, until he came to the great 
city — came here to Boston as a compositor, and gradually rose to the 
editorial chair. In this process of education he had to deal with current 



''GONE home:' 45 

•events, to discriminate between the truthful and the false, to give atten- 
tion to matters that pertain to human interests, to be familiar with many 
things ; and therefore his education was broad ; the tendency of his mind 
was to discard narrowness, and he was prepared to see things as they 
were and to judge righteous judgment. Now this preparation was all 
necessary in the work to which our friend was appointed; and when I 
affirm my conviction that our lives are planned and arranged in the minds 
of those who are to assist us in our work, I affirm what has been con- 
firmed in the life of our friend, that those who are most truly spiritual 
believe that these events that occur in our daily lives are not merely the 
product of chance, the result of a combination of circumstances, but were 
ordered, and are a part of a perfect system that pervades the entire uni- 
verse. 

Our friend came at last incidentally to notice the reports of manifesta- 
tions from the spirit-world, occurring somewhere, occurring in many 
places, cumulative, week after week, month after month, new statements 
of what occurred in different places, manifestations essentially similar, 
curious and mysterious at first, but of no spiritual concern. But his mind 
kindled to the subject, and he was led to investigate. In doing so he was 
fearless ; he didn't apprehend any trouble from the censure of his friends ; 
he didn't anticipate any adverse criticism. He entered upon the investiga- 
tion as he had opportunity, and that investigation brought him to convic- 
tion that there is indeed communication between that sphere of light above 
and around us, the spiritual sphere and the mortal state here on earth. 
He came to perceive that to be a great truth that must revolutionize the 
thoughts and opinions of mankind, must touch every community, and 
must eventually make man better known to himself as a spiritual being 
than he ever has been able to know through his senses. Therefore, he at 
once proposed that there should be a paper started. First of all, it was to 
be a literary paper, and have a department in which Spiritualism should 
be represented. But the very first issue of that paper indicated the cour- 
age with which the work of presenting the truths of Spiritualism was to 
be carried forward. He said distinctly in the first editorial : " We shall 
not necessarily believe all that its advocates say, but we shall not refuse 
to listen to what may be said. We shall publish nothing that is not well 
authenticated as reports of phenomena." The record of the Banner of 
Light has been a record of the fidelity of its editor to the maintenance of 
the principles first enunciated. I wish you to feel that it is impossible for 
me to speak of Luther Colby without speaking of the Banner of Light. 
It was wrapped about him ; it was wrapped about his inmost soul; his 
whole soul went out in and through that paper to mankind, his purpose 



46 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

being to present and make clear the great revelation that he believed in- 
volved so much. 

And I must say of my friend, that you may see him as he was, that he 
was a very courteous gentleman, almost a gentleman of the old school, a 
man of natural politeness, with suavity of manner, never boisterous, but. 
stating calmly, firmly and distinctly what he had witnessed, and simply 
saying : " What I have witnessed you may witness. The indications from 
phenomena almost constitute a philosophy, that the world will come to- 
understand, and by knowing will be the better for it." His work for these 
many years, since the first issue of that paper in 1857, has been contin- 
uous — in late years with the assistance of an associate editor ; and he 
has continued to perform his duties in the editorial chair, nearly all the 
matter that has been published passing under his surveillance. As I have 
said, he was true to this : Articles that could not present evidence of the 
phenomena narrated were set aside, and those sentiments that were not in 
harmony with the fundamental principles of Spirdtualism were set aside.. 
The Banner has been cautious, conservative, bold, courteous, distinct, and 
never has been subservient to anything but the right, never could be pre- 
vented from uttering its best thought, and it is that which has secured for 
it the continued approval and appreciation of the people ; and wherever 
it has gone — and it has gone all over the world — the name of Luther 
Colby, a personal stranger to the multitude who associated it with the 
Banner of Lights has been a synonym of that devotion which he ever 
manifested to the truth, and that firmness of conviction which from the. 
first he felt in the revelations of Modern Spiritualism. 

Oh, dear friends, could I gather all the tributes from loving hearts alt 
over this world to the memory of Luther Colby ; could I gather the 
tributes from those who have been educated in the Spiritual Philosophy, 
largely through the instrumentality of himself, the tributes o-f hundreds, 
and thousands of hearts that have been warmed and quickened by his 
influence and which have come into welcome association with the higher 
life — what a wealth of appreciation of his labors would this indicate ; 
not because he was altogether a perfect man, but because he, according to 
his ability, performed the duty entrusted to him, unflinchingly, with serene 
courage, never disturbed, always calm, quiet and peaceful. Our friend 
made hosts of friends. 

When I said our mortality hugged us close, I felt it in my own case. 
A Spiritualist ten years in advance of Brother Colby, when I came to 
Boston it was to meet and greet him and to be associated with him and 
his associates in an enduring friendship ever since. I am conscious that 
when I walk — and I may walk here a few months longer through these. 



''GONE home:' 47 

streets — and pass into the editorial room of the Banner of Lights I shall 
see no more this body ; my mortality hugs me close. We miss our friends 
because we do not see them ; only the spiritual enables us to perceive 
them. Fortunately we are growing out of the body, depending more and 
more upon our spiritual intuition, upon the voices that we sometimes hear, 
upon the evidences of the presence of our friends which they are enabled 
to manifest to us ; so we are growing steadily from year to year. This 
great truth which our Brother Colby has advocated so long and to 
which he devoted his life, is taking root among mankind, affecting its 
thought, modifying the harshness of the old theology, turning people from 
their dependence upon theological systems, taking them away from mean- 
ingless forms of worship, and placing men where they shall be worshipers 
and respectors of God in their own souls. 

It is a revelation to man, with God regnant in His own spirit, enforcing 
the idea that only goodness and virtue, those noble attributes of humanity, 
will stand us in good stead when we pass into the realm of the spiritual 
world. It is not profession merely, but it is that warm grasp of the hand 
which signifies the heart's friendship, and is worth more than all the 
prayers ever uttered. 

Our friend did not discard religious forms ; he respected tliem as helps 
to others, but he had no need of these crutches ; he couldn't understand 
the necessity of forms and ceremonies ; he lived the simple life of a man, 
was well acquainted with himself, and desired to be better acquainted 
with human nature. He had the geniality of a man of goodness and 
kindness which contributed to the happiness of others, and sympathized 
with their sorrows. He rarely was appealed to by any one in distress — 
and mediums are often in distress — whether the person belonged to the 
Spiritual fold or not, that his hand did not automatically seek his pocket, 
that he might minister to his necessities. According to his means, Luther 
Colby was a most generous man ; his heart was sympathetic, and every- 
body felt its goodness. 

Why should I speak of a blot upon the sun ? Unfortunately he was 
impetuous, and his impetuosity came of an excitable temper, and some- 
times reason had hardly time to act before impulse to speak manifested 
itself, and sometimes a thoughtless word escaped \ but how quick he was 
to apologize if he felt he had injured any one ! 

He was not easily imposed upon ; he was a man of clear vision ; he 
knew men when he met them, and did not allow them often to succeed in 
deceiving him. That was one of his marked characteristics, and in his 
giving he seldom gave unwisely. 

But these are incidentals. We are not to analyze each other, we are to 



48 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

make the best of each other under the circumstances ; and how much 
better it would be if, following the lead of this dear friend, we could bring 
about us such genial companionship, so it would be a little taste of 
heaven, and so, doing good so far as in our power lay in this world, hav- 
ing no fear of the future, and having discharged all our obligations, go 
forward to the future opportunities of the spiritual life ! What do we 
know ? How little ; and yet our minds are reasonably active ; they seem 
to be limited, and we can grasp but a few subjects. Well, the time is 
coming when every subject shall be within our purview, and a state of 
understanding where our education may be complete. In that sphere, in 
the world immortal, we shall be deathless, and go on toward perfection. 
I see the folds of that banner, that Ba7tner of Light. It seems to illu- 
minate those who are walking in the dark valley of the shadow of death. It 
has never been furled, and I hope and trust and believe that it never will 
be furled. I must say this of it, that it has never been published as a 
financial speculation or investment, but simply and always for the cause it 
advocated. If it had been published merely as a financial venture, the 
vicissitudes of the past, fires and other misfortunes, would have prevented 
the flowing of that Banner ; but whatever it might cost, it was resolved 
that The Banner should be sustained, and I trust it will be so in the 
future, and that it will be carried forward as in the past ; and in memory 
of our dear friend let us pledge our assistance that it shall be sustained. 

ADDRESS OF MR. COBB. 

Miss Dodge then sang '' The Lifting of the Veil," after 
which Eben Cobb, President of the America Hall Society, 
Boston, addressed the people. He spoke of the true concep- 
tion of physical translation which Spiritualism gives to its 
adherents, and then said (among other points) : 

I feel that our good friend has not gone, but is translated. Our brother 
died of old age, and is taken up by angel hands. How blessed is this 
thought ! . . . 

It has been erroneously said, and is to-day, that every man — I think it 
ought to have included women — is born free and equal. It is no such 
thing. We all beheve, I assume, that in every human being there is a 
soul, and the heart of that soul, the inward spark of glory, is from the 
dear God above. But there are possibilities on earth that that spark for 
a time may be so covered and corroded and enchained, even at one's 



^^GONE home:' 49 

birth, that the individual is far from free, but on the contrary is imprisoned, 
fettered, manacled, and the tender light in the soul is hidden in the glare 
of its environment. I allude to no particular creed, to no particular sect. 
I have a hard word for no one to-day, for I know that there is true 
religion and true goodness and whole-souled piety in every creed that the 
world has known ; but hand-in-hand with that goodness, that charity and 
benevolence, what hard, cruel, rigid, adamantine chains have clanked and 
have been wound around the young tendrils of the budding soul to hold it 
tight lest it get away from some sanctified altar. . . . 

There is no greatness in the world to be created by the thunder of 
cannon, the clashing of swords and the spread of ruin and desolation. 
The greatest law that we can recognize as coming from that beloved old 
prophet of Nazareth, the law above all others, is the law of love, which 
our dear friend whose mortal remains lie in this casket before us, so fully 
■exemplified; and there is not a man or woman on earth whose life is con- 
trolled by that great guiding star, who is not entitled to be called great. 

Year after year has our dear friend been, as it were, buried in his 
sanctum, in order to test and send out — what? Light, freedom, and a 
broader field of investigation for the soul ; and under this benign influence 
has humanity been steadily advanced. 

I have not for years been called upon to attend and officiate at a 
funeral, in connection with good ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
of all denominations, but what I have found that their earnest endeavor 
was to impress upon the hearts and souls and minds of the mourners 
present that their dear friends, gone, by the permission of a kind, over- 
ruling Providence, were allowed to return and hover about them, and 
sympathize with them in their joys and sorrows. . . . 

From all over the civihzed world, from lofty palace and humble hut, 
warming with tender hfe in fane and cathedral, came to the veteran's 
ears breathings of earnest orisons, freighted with heart-assurance gained 
by intercourse with departed loves. Glorious thought ! That after long 
years of ceaseless toil and heroic contest toward a victory for the Higher 
Life, the dauntless champion could calmly survey the field and say within 
his soul, " Truly, the battle is won ! " Fit time that his liberated spirit 
should join the welcoming throng beyond. 

Are we sincere? Is this manifestation of memorial regard a mere ser- 
vice of form, or springs it from the united throb of deep, abiding love ? 
If the latter, remember that the old General has left tried and trusty 
marshals still at his wonted post of duty. Let us generously aid them 
with a patriot's zeal, for yet will it be Luther Colby's greatest joy to see 
the glorious old Banner of Light waving freely over a regenerated world. 



50 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

Dr. Storer then read the resolutions forwarded for the occa- 
sion by the National Spiritualist Convention : 

Washington, D. C, October 9, 1894. 

The delegates of the National Spiritualists' Association, in con- 
vention assembled, have heard with profound emotion of the transition of 
our venerable and much beloved brother, Luther Colby, editor of the 
Banner of Light : Therefore, 

Resolved^ That in his birth to a higher condition we recognize a great 
spiritual truth, that while we are not permitted to mourn, we have lost 
from our mortal activity one of the noblest workers in our glorious Cause ; 
one whose life-long labors for the great truth of Spiritualism have made it 
possible for this Convention to assemble. 

Resolved, That words are inadequate to express our appreciation of the 
generous heart, the ever-ready and active brain, the hand extended in 
charity always, and the unflinching fidelity to, and defence of, the Cause, 
that was dearer to him than life. 

Resolved, That we cannot fail to recognize the irreparable loss, in his 
removal from the duties that he so loved to perform ; still do we know 
that he has joined that noble band of spirits who aided the great work 
performed by him, as editor of the Banner of Light from its inception, 
and that his influence and presence will still be the abiding and controlling 
power of its future usefulness. 

Resolved, That we tender our sympathy to his associates of the Banner 
of Light Publishing House, and to his relatives and friends, though we 
realize that their loss is his gain. 

Be it further Resolved, That these resolutions be inscribed upon the 
minutes of this Convention, and a copy of same be sent to the Spirituahst 
papers for publication, 

W. H. Bach, St. Paul, Minn. 

M. E. Cadwallader, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Cora L. V. Richmond, Chicago, 111. 

L. P. Wheelock, Moline, 111. 

Dr. I. T. Akin, Blooming Valley, Pa. 

Miss Dodge then sang '' Beautiful Life," after which Mr. 
Lyman C. Howe spoke appreciatively of him whose form was 
stretched before the congregation in the restful embrace of 
Ghansfe. 



^^GOXE HOMEr 51 

ADDRESS BY LYMAN C. HOWE. 

. . . Our brother, Luther Colby, has left his mark upon this world, and 
taken with him the love and blessings of millions who have shared in the 
consolations of Spiritualism, brought to their knowledge through his 
instrumentality. 

I have known him personally over twenty years, and I gladly add my 
tribute to his memory ; and the best thing I can say of him is that he was 
a ?nan, with an inheritance of infinite possibihties ; and in his fourscore 
years of life he has impressed those superior qualities of mind and heart 
upon many thousands for the healing of the nations. 

He has come in touch with millions through his public ministrations, 
with thousands personally ; and every one who has felt the life of his 
touch retains the impress of his individuality still. That impress is, and 
will continue to be, a modifying influence in the direction of character and 
its development. He was strong in convictions, and ready to carry out, 
according to his best understanding, the highest ideals of his life ; and in 
his departure we shall miss all these outward, tangible expressions, and 
none can take his place from this time, though others, perhaps, are equally 
as well qualified to give direction to the work he so vigorously and suc- 
cessfully prosecuted ; and yet others will now move in his shadow and 
personality, will be affected by the psychic influences of this master in 
their impressions, tendencies, thoughts, feehngs, emotions and affections. 

The best that can be said of any man is that he is loyal to his convic- 
tions, and his heart warms with love and devotion to his fellows. This 
can be said with emphasis of Luther Colby. He was tender, sympa- 
thetic, impulsive, and generous to the helpless and needy. In Spiritualism 
he found an ample field for the play of his genius and the application of 
his high ideals and generous instincts to the improvement of the race. 
His soul was in his chosen work. For it he lived and labored. A happy 
enthusiasm inspired his efforts, and carried his convictions to the hearts of 
the people. He loved, thrilled, suffered, enjoyed, wept and smiled, with 
and for humanity. Such a presence carries the tide of emotions with it 
in all the works of life ; and, now that he is arisen, we may expect to 
realize the value of these qualities continued in the same line of work 
whose visible agents will be his successors in the conduct of his beloved 
Bamier. . . . 

I gladly offer my tribute to the memory of Luther Colby. He was 
my friend. Our relations were always pleasant, though we did not always 
see alike. I shall remember him as long as my individuality remains. 
Soon I shall follow him through that shining gate, and again we shall 



52 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

clasp hands and rejoice. Whether he be sitting here and listening and 
looking, matters not, so that we feel that his individuality survives the 
physical decay, and puts on a stronger armor, a higher significance, a 
more impressive symmetry, a more expansive expression of intelligence, a 
still finer and deeper manifestation of those impulses that thrilled him 
when his heart prompted him to deeds of love and charity unseen and 
unknown by the world. May we feel his presence often. May we sense 
and recognize his nearness to us; may we look up hopefully, trustfully, 
not only to him, but to others like unto -him whose service has been for 
human emancipation, and has been fearlessly and faithfully performed; 
and through these may we form a closer union with that world of light 
which lies beyond, and become familiar with those visions of beauty and 
glory, and those translations of knowledge and truth that come to the 
soul, and thereby swing the gate somewhat wider between the two 
worlds. . . . 

At the conclusion of the exercises the congregation gazed 
on the remains. Disposed around the body — which was en- 
closed in a casket of black cloth — were the following gentle- 
men, who acted as pall-bearers : Isaac B. Rich, John W. Day, 
Charles McArthur, Moses T. Dole, M. S. Ayer, Frederick G. 
Tuttle, Charles F. Fay, David W. Craig, William C. Tallman, 
W. S. Butler and William F. Nye. The ushers were Charles 
T. Wood, Marshall O. Wilcox. The funeral appointments 
were furnished by Mr. J. Tinkham, undertaker. Mr. H. W. 
Pitman — associate editor of The Banner — made and carried 
out the arrangements for the funeral. The body was taken to 
Forest Hills, where it was cremated. Thursday, October 
nth, the ashes were interred in Mrs. Conant's lot at Forest 
Hills Cemetery, Boston, Mass. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TRIBUTES. PROSE AND POETIC. 

" Thou didst fall in the field with thy silver hair, 
And a Bantter in thy hand ; 
Thou wert laid to rest from thy battles there 
By a proudly mournful band." 

— Mrs. Hematis's " Marshal Shewerin." 

As might naturally be expected the demise and obsequies 
of Mr. Colby struck a profound and solemn chord in all 
hearts devoted to the advocacy of the New Dispensation. 
The brave men and women who for years had been accustomed 
to see him in the van of the movement caught a quick breath 
as they saw him fall, and then turned their faces like flint 
once more to the front, seeking to follow his example in work- 
ing out the remainder of " life's little day " ; while those 
younger in the movement — recognizing the value of his 
labors in the past, which had prepared for them the highway 
along which to tread in the discharge of incumbent duty — 
involuntarily drew closer in their ranks as they moved onward. 
But from both classes words of the highest esteem found ut- 
terance and publicity concerning his service on earth, and 
from these kindly expressions given from time to time in the 
columns of The Banner and elsewhere, the following are culled 
as a garland to his memory. 

No attempt has been made to give articles in entirety — the 
extent of the field of choice precludes that ; but the extracts 
.here appended have been chosen as giving vent to the feelings 
of the writers. To avoid repetition in the ideas expressed, 
when all spoke to one purpose, and with a single aim, is well- 
nigh impossible ; condensation in prose and poetic remem- 



54 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

brance has been rendered obligatory. The criticism of the 
reader is therefore here forestalled by an appeal alike to his 
or her reason and affection in the premises. 

In the course of an address delivered in Baltimore by W. J. 
CoLViLLE, occurred, amons; other sentences, the following: : 

After stating that it was his special duty on that occasion 
to chronicle the passing from the scenes of mortal labor of 
Luther Colby, senior editor of the Banner of Lights Mr. 
Colville proceeded : 

For thirty-seven years has the Banner of Light been floating to the 
breeze, and for all that time the name of Luther Colby has been promi- 
nently displayed on this fearless and progressive sheet. We well know 
that whenever one worker is called to his well-earned recompense in the 
Great Beyond, others are brought forward to fill the vacant place; but 
though our faith be ever so firm in the superintending guidance of infinite 
beneficence, we cannot feel (on the earthly side) other than sorry to miss 
the cheery voice and imposing presence of one whom we have learned to 
love by reason of the tie of sincere friendship which has for many years 
bound us very closely together. When your present speaker, at the early 
age of eighteen, commenced public work in Boston, he found Luther 
Colby from the first a stalwart, influential friend ; and through the nearly 
sixteen years which have intervened from November, 1878, till October, 
1894, the friendship thus early formed has strengthened and perpetually 
increased. 

But it is not of personal kindness extended to your lecturer that we de- 
sire to speak, for in a life so full of kindness as was that of our so recently 
ascended friend, courtesies and good-will extended to any single individ- 
ual constitute but a drop in an ocean of benevolence. It was our great 
privilege to know Mr. Colby, not merely to enjoy a surface acquaintance 
with him, and therefore are we in a position to speak understandingly of 
the depth of his nature, and the extreme generosity and fidelity of his 
character. 

In these days, when so many people are looking into Spiritualism and 
all that pertains thereto, it requires no more than a little capital to start a 
weekly or monthly periodical devoted to the advocacy and elucidation of 
Spiritual Philosophy and Phenomena; but in 1857 it needed bravery of 
spirit far beyond the average to face the violent and reasonless opposition 
which was then almost everywhere extended to advocates of Modern 
Spiritualism in the early years of its eventful history. From the very 



TRIBUTES. 55 

liour when the Banner of Light commenced to wave in obedience to 
spiritual direction, till the hour of his passing to join the innumerable com- 
pany of friends and fellow-workers who have already greeted him on the 
"other side," Mr. Colby's heart, intellect and worldly means were all de- 
voted to the best interests of the Cause he loved better than life. Fair- 
weather advocates of any cause are numerous as mushrooms after a 
shower, but those who will adhere, if possible, even closer to the princi- 
ples they represent when the storm of adversity presses, are rare indeed. 

The Banner of Lights with Luther Colby at its head, has been like 
the proverbial Jew in history — fire could not burn it, water could not 
drown it, though flame and flood raised their fury against it, for it had 
and still has a heaven-born mission to fulfil; therefore it has triumphed 
and will continue to triumph over the very elements of nature, and over 
the misguided passions of mankind. So large and liberal, so widely and 
grandly comprehensive was our veteran's editorial policy, that the columns 
of his admirable newspaper were never defiled with insulting personahties, 
coarse illustrations or ribald jests. . . . 

A clean, able family paper, conducted in the interests of a once highly 
unpopular Cause through thirty-seven years of fluctuating fortune, deserves 
the recognition and respect not only of Spirituahsts, but of liberal thinkers 
everywhere; and here let us aver that multitudes of progressive thinkers 
the world over, though they may not have identified themselves in all 
cases with Spiritualism proper, have had their otherwise thorny pathway 
greatly smoothed through the faithful, tireless advocacy of the broadest 
freedom of thought and expression for which the Banner of Light has 
ever stood, and just as widely stands to-day as in the hour when the first 
issue was published. 

True it is that Mr. Colby has had faithful and talented co-workers ; 
but he has ever been the central magnet and efiicient nucleus around 
which the honorable galaxy of assistants have been proud to gather. 
Were we to express a tenth part of what we could most sincerely and 
conscientiously utter at this point, we should no doubt be deemed guilty of 
reckless extravagance in speech, even by our most appreciative friends ; 
but though we forbear, lest too strong eulogy should appear unwise, we 
urge upon the Spirituahsts of the United States the erection of an abiding 
monument to Luther Colby : not a statue in a public square in Boston, 
though that would be by no means inappropriate ; and certainly not a use- 
less expenditure upon a memorial urn or column in the cemetery where 
his ashes rest ; but the liberal endowment of the paper to which he gave 
his best years, his time, his thought, his love, his talents, that it may be in 
future not only what it has been in the past, but even vastly more efficient, 



56 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

and truly representative. . . . The history of Spiritualism in America 
could not be written with the name of Luther Colby left out. 

Hon. Luther R. Marsh, of Middletown, N. Y., said, in the 
course of a memorial tribute : 

Renewed, re-invigorated, re-vitahzed, freed from shackles, he enters on 
a new career. He looks back upon the thirty-seven years of editorial toil 
with satisfaction ; and forward to the centuries of spiritual work before 
him, with joy. How small official stations are beside that he fills ! . . . 

In full assurance of the truth — conveyed to sight and hearing and 
touch and inner conviction — he did not quail before the combined at- 
tacks of the adversaries of the Cause. 

He knew that he knew. He had reliance on himself. He had faith in. 
his own eyes. He believed his own ears. He stood by his own judg- 
ment. Hearsay and speculation and conjecture were vain in effort to 
overthrow his conviction, based on knowledge. His courage was heroic. 
He would front the world. Secular and theologic presses might print and 
scatter earth- wide their fierce denunciations; they brought to his sanctum 
only a feeling of pity for their ignorance, and of hope for their future. 
Standing like a rocky pillar, conspicuous and unremoved, he has looked 
out upon the waters, year by year receding, and beheld the prospect 
brightening all around him. 

In every country men have come up to his support. An abounding 
literature fortifies his position. New presses in America, in Europe, even 
in remote AustraHa, advocate the Cause. Sensitives start up in almost 
every family, and throng in every city. Camps gather their thousands in 
" the groves," " God's first temples." Old dogmas, man-made, are not 
ladled out to the crowds who seek their leaf-roofed auditoriums. Poets 
sing in concord. Lips " touched with celestial fire " speak forth celestial 
truth. In the last half of this man's life, and largely owing to his efforts, 
has this marvellous change been wrought. Well may he receive the ben- 
ediction " Well done ! " . . . 

Mrs. Love M. Willis, of Rochester, N. Y., wrote as fol- 
lows : 

It is over thirty years since I first knew Mr. Colby. I was then en- 
gaged to edit the Children's Department of the Banner of Lights which 
brought me for five years into correspondence with him. The noblest 
tribute I can give to him personally is that he was ever a reliable and 



TRIBUTES, 57 

faithful friend. Every one who has known of his public career knows 
that he was always true to his conviction of right and truth. He had 
buckled on " the armor of salvation," and he always felt like a captain 
leading souls forward against the hosts of error. To some of his co- 
workers, he seemed too aggressive, too sensitive ; but he had labored so 
long and faithfully, and had suffered so much for truth's sake, it is no 
wonder that he felt keenly the misunderstandings that he had to encoun- 
ter. It is one of the results of our American civilization that there is 
little respect for age and experience. The young feel that they know far 
better what the new time needs; but all must acknowledge that Mr. 
Colby kept abreast of the times, and gave, in the Banner of Lights the 
most candid resiune of the progress of the spiritual movement on the 
material plane that was consistent with his convictions. He devoted time 
and money to the cause he had espoused, and that he loved better than 
all temporal good. Even friendships and reputation, when weighed in the 
balance with duty, were found wanting. 

Edith Willis Linn, the talented daughter of Dr. F. L. H. 
and Mrs. Love M. Willis, wrote the subjoined : 

TO ONE WHO HAS DEPARTED. 

Cast in a grand, heroic mold. 

As old-time warriors, bold and brave, 
Thou hast waged the battle for the truth. 

Men's souls from fear and gloom to save. 

Not by the sword that conquest was ; 

A harder battle wageth here — 
A fight against the laugh of scorn, 

And bigot's hate and cynic's sneer. 

Thy valiant soul had need of strife. 

Oh ! not for thee earth's flowers and wine. 
I like to think that even now 

The conquest and the toil are thine. 

Dear friend, brave soldier, fare thee well. 

Forget not earth and all her fears. 
Let strength of thine renew our strength, 

And ease our hearts and dry our tears. 



58 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY 

From earth's ignoble, jealous life, 

Thy soul hath risen into light. 
Thy crown awaits thee ; angel hands 

Will wrap thee in thy garments bright. 

Peace shall be thine that comes from power ; 

And victory thine that follows strife. 
Our hearts are better for thy love. 

The world is nobler for thy life ! 

Dr. Fred. L. H. Willis, after speaking of his abiding 
memories of Mr. Colby, and the hour of his (Willis's) perse- 
cution and expulsion from Harvard College because of his 
mediumship, says : 

He found me broken in body, and crushed in spirit, just rallying from a 
fearful attack of brain-fever, the result of the intense excitement I had 
been laboring under, and the unjust verdict of the Faculty. I felt that 
my hfe was hopelessly wrecked. 

Mr. Colby was then in the prime of his life, full of mental and physi- 
cal vigor, full of enthusiasm for the new faith whose facts and philosophy 
had been overwhelmingly demonstrated to him through the marvelous 
mediumship of Mrs. Fanny Conant and others. 

He had just heard the decision of the Faculty, and burning with indig- 
nation came out to see the victim of it. 

It was a memorable interview. His brave words encouraged and up- 
lifted me. He convinced me that all was not lost, as I had imagined ; 
that thousands of friends were rallying about me, and that the angel world 
was behind me to care for and protect me ; and then, with the remarkable 
prophetic power he gave proofs of possessing, even at that early day, he 
mapped out my future career, and most accurately predicted the part I 
was to play in the New Dispensation being then in process of inauguration. 

From that day he was my faithful, true friend. He revealed to me a 
side of his nature that he allowed but few to obtain glimpses of. There 
was a child-like, tender, loving side to his nature that his external manner 
seldom revealed. 

To me he typified and illustrated the best phases of human nature in 
many respects. He was sympathetic with all sufferings, generous in his 
Impulses, cosmopolitan in spirit, claiming no right or privilege for himself 
that he did not wish to share with every child of humanity. . . . 

The services he rendered to Spiritualism cannot be estimated. He 



TRIBUTES. 



59 



threw heart and soul into his work. The Baiifier of Light was to him 
what an idoHzed child is to a fond parent. His devotion to it was 
supreme. . . . 

Prof. J. Jay Watson, of New York, in a letter relating 
Mr. Colby's generosity toward the Indians et al^ — after 
speaking in terms of the highest appreciation of his character 
as a man and a worker, said : 

As he drew near the end of his earthly pilgrimage, his warm heart 
seemed to grow still more tender toward everyone, and his extreme sensi- 
tiveness to increase in like ratio. 

At our last interview I was alluding to some accident that had occurred. 
Suddenly wheeling around and looking me intently in the eye, he calmly, 
and in a most subdued voice, asked, '■'•Are there any accidents?" To 
this pertinent question I could only reiterate Col. Robert G. Ingersoll's 
famous saying, " Let's be honest and say we don't know." Well may 
Gerald Massey's touching Hues so aptly applied by Mr. Thomas Lees in 
his recent letter to The Banner^ again be quoted : 

*' Of such as he was, there be few on earth, 
Of such as he was, there be many in Heaven ; 
And life is all the sweeter that he lived, 
And death is all the fairer that he died, 
And Heaven is all the brighter that he's there." 

James M. Peebles, of San Diego, Cal, a life-long friend of 
Mr. Colby — to whose views concerning his mediumship ref- 
erence has before been made, said on one other occasion : 

Luther Colby, after careful and critical investigation, became a 
Spiritualist — when it cost something to be a pronounced Spiritualist. 
And yet, from the hour of his conviction and conversion to the grand 
truth, he never for a moment swerved, nor faltered in defending it with 
voice and pen. No matter how dark the cloud, he saw the sun shining 
above it. No indifference chilled his zeal ; no vague reports prejudiced 
his judgment ; no disaster checked his soul-felt ardor, nor cooled his in 
tense love for the grand uplifting truths engermed in and connected with 
the Spiritual Philosophy. He will live in the history of Spiritualism on 
earth immortal, for no truth can die nor principle perish. 

IVIortal he was, and momentarily impulsive he may have been, when 
weighed down by the burdens of pressing responsibilities and by a daily 
flood of letters, bringing, many of them, scheming, selfish auras ; and yet, 



6o MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

under all these trying conditions and struggles for the right and the true,,, 
there beat a heart as gentle and tender as a woman's. 

Luther Colby, though a man of strong convictions, ever counselled 
peace, and the exercise of that charity toward others that " endureth all 
things." 

Though for four years editor of the Western Department of the Ban- 
ner of Lights and corresponding for its columns for thirty years, more or 
less — intimately acquainted necessarily with the proprietors and editors 
of The Banner, I can conscientiously say I have never known more hon- 
orable, upright men ; and, of Luther Colby, I unhesitatingly say that. 
for good intentions, for sterling integrity, for tenacious memory, for will- 
ingness to praise rather than censure others, for charity toward those who 
differed from him, for sympathy toward sensitive, persecuted mediums and 
for consecration to the truth of Spiritualism, he had no superior. . . . 

Jennie Leys wrote for The Banner this, as her tribute to 

LUTHER COLBY. 

The angels' Banner-Bearer, crowned with light ! 

Fronting with fearless faith the frowning world. 

He held aloft God's ensign, wide unfurled. 
To shed Heaven's peace on Death's despairing night. 

Through Truth's long war that standard never fell 

From its ideal, so sublimely true ; 

But brought immortal life and love in view 
By the great message it was charged to tell. 

No dark word marred his Banner''s sacred scroll. 

Each medium's steadfast friend, through storm or shine 

He mantled all with love and trust divine — • 
The golden aura of his own grand soul. 

■ Ah ! who can count the hearts he comforted ? 

Earth's stricken lives he raised, and stayed their tears. 
To sing the new song from the spirit-spheres : 
" Our loved ones live ! they live ! there are no dead ! " 

All life grew bright at that celestial song ! , 
Thou heart of gold, whom trial tarnished not, 
View now the heavenly work those full years wrought : 

The whole world welcomes now the spirit-throng. 



TRIBUTES. 6 1 

Behold ! thy people rise and call thee blest ! 

Their love and praise eternal round thee beam. 

Thrice-sacred now the Cause we hold supreme, 
Since thou, too, hast become a spirit-guest. 

Hearken the earth's acclaim to thy new height : 
Well done, oh noble soul, thy glorious part ! 
Beyond the shining veil ! yet still thou art 

The angels' Banner-Bearer, crowned with light ! 

Giles B. Stebbins, of Detroit, Mich., one of the sturdy 
toilers for reform in its various branches, wrote as follows in 
summing up his conception of the subject of this volume : 

Few men have been faithful and abundant in labor for a high end for 
so long a time. For thirty-seven years he was the guiding genius of his 
beloved Banner of LigJit — to set before a waiting world, in its columns, 
the power and presence and influence of the dwellers in the spirit-world, 
the central and inspiring idea and aim of his increasing efforts. He 
sought to save humanity by giving light from the spirit-world for their 
help and guidance. He was faithful to the supernal intelligences, in the 
full belief that thus he could best be sure of their help in his daily life, 
and he made the Banner of Light known and recognized as valuable by 
spiritual thinkers in every country of the civilized world. 

He wrought in his own way and by his own light, as all must, and those 
who could not always agree with him recognized and honored his large 
usefulness. 

George A. Fuller, of Worcester, Mass., President of the 
State Association of Spiritualists, said : 

How joyous must have been his meeting with the great souls with 
whom he had been associated in the years gone by in all his laudable ef- 
forts to upHft and bless humanity. In the truest sense of the term he was 
the friend of all humanity, and in an especial sense the friend of all 
mediums. Many here will miss his kindly words of appreciation, and his 
substantial assistance to those who have given their lives and all for 
Spiritualism. May his spirit inspire those in whose hands The Ban?ier 
will now be entrusted. May the same kindly spirit pervade its columns, 
and may it still continue as the light-bearer of the advance guards of our 
Spiritual Philosophy. 



62 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY, 

A. B. French, of Clyde, O., an eloquent and widely-known 
advocate of the Spiritual Cause, thus spoke of him *'who has 
gone unto his place " : 

Luther Colby leaves to us the rich legacy of a heroic life. He has 
touched this' world, and it has and will feel the thrill of his spirit. He 
has builded for himself a monument more enduring than bronze or granite. 
Artless as a child; sympathetic as a loving woman; generous as the 
noonday sun, and faithful to his convictions as are the changeless stars to 
a changing earth, his work will live after him ! 

Emerson, the Plato of the Occident, has said: " The way to speak and 
write what shall not go out of fashion is to speak and write sincerely." 

Mr. Colby brought to his work the sincerity of his great heart. To 
him SpirituaHsm was light and air, singing bird and summer shower. For 
it he toiled in unselfish devotion. He was truly the medium's friend, and 
many will miss the aid of his generous hand. 

As the setting sun lies down upon a sea crimsoned with its own beauty, 
so Luther Colby has enshrined himself in the hearts of his thousands of 
friends, and taken another step toward the unread secret of the universe. 

Let us not mourn the fate of SpirituaHsm because he has gone up 
higher. The Elijah of every great cause drops from his ascending chariot 
his unsoiled mantle for others to wear. 

So the work goes forward when the workman dies. In the wake of 
every wave which breaks upon the shore, there follows another in quick 
succession, equally as strong. The Banner will not droop by his transi- 
tion. Another star has been added to its luminous folds, to shine with 
White, Brittan, Pierpont, and others of the old guard. Let ms who still 
journey through sun and shade to our release^ rally to its standard and 
help to keep it firm. 

Joseph D. Stiles, the remarkably successful platform test 
medium, wrote from Weymouth, Mass., this bit of history, 
with its accompanying prophecy so grandly fulfilled : 

From the martyrdom of bitter experience and trial has Luther Colby 
passed to the sure reward awaiting his faithful service here. The world 
may never rear monument nor pillar above his ashes, but the monument 
he has reared in countless grateful hearts will live ages after granite or 
marble has crumbled to dust. 

I had the privilege of being in the Old Melodeon when the first copies 
of The Banner were distributed, and as I hastily perused the contents I 



TRIBUTES. 63 

turned to a lady friend by my side, with whom Brother Colby became 
well acquainted in after years, with the remark : " That paper will be a 
wondrous power in the world ! " Subsequent years have verified the 
prophecy. 

From a tribute furnished The Banner by George A. Bacon, 
of Washington, D. C, an intimate friend of Mr. Colby from 
the foundation of that paper, these paragraphs are excerpted : 

The numberless, outspoken tributes to his memory, from hearts rich 
with human sympathy — from the humblest as from the highest names 
known to our ranks, even from some who for years had not regarded him 
as a friend, but whose recent words of commendation are alike creditable 
to their heads and hearts — these impromptu tributes are the best evi- 
dences as to the character and value of Brother Colby's Hfe-work in 
the Cause that dominated his every thought. 

But however hearty the bestowal of praise, nothing has been said that 
was not fully merited. Whatever he felt was his duty, or what he re- 
garded was right, he did it fearlessly, though consequences might not al- 
ways be pleasant either to him or to his friends. . . . 

Of sturdy build and physical inheritance, his thought was practical, his 
outlook broad, his mind of universal cast. Strong in his friendships, he 
hated every semblance of ingratitude ; stern of judgment, he was tender 
as a woman. 

He loved justice, and abhorred all forms of oppression. While his 
active sympathies reached out to every class, he felt to specially condemn 
the nation's treatment of our Indian wards. Hand in hand with his in- 
telhgent efforts to impart spiritual light and knowledge, are to be remem- 
bered his numberless acts of gracious kindness and generosity toward 
others in material things. With only very limited means, he was con- 
stantly doing good in this direction, far more than many with independent 
resources : Unremittingly contributing to the necessities of some worthy 
person or cause till after his own affairs were seriously crippled — these 
unselfish acts stand out like stars at night and reflect his goodness of 
heart. They bear record of him on earth and in heaven. 

May his minor defects of character but serve to improve our own, and 
his many greater virtues be cherished and emulated by all who knew him ; 
thus will the world continue to be better for his having lived in it. 

Thomas Lees, of Cleveland, O., who as a prominent Spirit- 
ualist worker in the West, and voluminous correspondent for 



64 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

The Banner, had long been known to Mr. Colby, wrote con- 
cerning his transition : 

Early in the week the unexpected intelligence reached Cleveland, 
through friend Wm. F. Nye of New Bedford, that the veteran Spiritualist 
and senior editor of the Banner of Light, Luther Colby, had left his 
many friends on this mundane sphere to join the multitudinous ones who 
had preceded him to spirit-life. 

Certainly no man was better prepared for the journey, for in the last 
half of the eighty years of his earth-Hfe he had had a most wonderful ex- 
perience, proving on all occasions faithful to the sacred trust reposed in 
him by the spirit-world. His was indeed a record to be proud of. Nobly 
and courageously he has stood during that long period by that Banner of 
Light (the symbol of all that is grand and good in Modern Spiritualism) 
that he and Brother Berry flung to the breeze in Boston in 1857. 

Moses Hull, then doing most effective service for the 
Cause in Cleveland, also wrote : 

Although Luther Colby was, as the Bible says, "old and full of 
years," and I may add, fully ripe for the spirit side of life, yet when I 
think of his having gone to the "great majority" I feel a wave of sadness 
come over me. He was the first editor in our Cause, when I came trem- 
bHngly into it, to take me by the hand and give me a word of cheer. He 
was ever true to the Cause we loved and to its workers. 

He will be missed particularly by the old veterans, who are being so 
rapidly thinned out among the workers here. The few who are left of us 
are getting lonesome ; yet amid our loneliness we rejoice to know that we 
are hourly drawing nearer to that host on the other side who loved, 
labored and suffered for the Cause here. 

I wonder if these old, faithful toilers, among whom Brother Colby is 
in the front ranks, will not, inasmuch as they know so much about the 
work here, organize a special work in connection with that of those who 
remain to fight the spiritual battles on this side of the river. 

Albert Morton, himself an old Bostonian, who has for 
years resided in San Francisco, but who is now a resident of 
Summerland, Cal., wrote from thence the following in a trib- 
ute to Mr. Colby's work, and the value of The Banner s 
message department : 



TRIBUTES. 65 

He was the first to open a public way through which the decarnated 
spirits could transmit messages of comfort to their bereaved friends, and 
in doing that he was instrumental in doing a grand, Christ-like work, 
bringing rest to the weary, comfort to the afflicted, and hope to the 
despairing. All this has been done through the Message Department of 
the Banner of Light. The Pharisee and Levite have passed this work 
with sneers and contempt, but the good Samaritan continued to bind up 
the wounds and apply the healing balsam regardless of the criticism of 
captious or cynical critics. It is an evidence of the generosity of the 
managers that in this department of The Banner they have annually ex- 
pended, ever since it was founded, means sufficient to more than cover the 
entire cost of the publication of other papers ; and this work has been per- 
formed by Luther Colby and his associates, with but little return to 
them, aside from the grand reward arising from the consciousness of a 
good work being faithfully performed. 

The genuineness of the messages was at first thoroughly tested by the 
editor, and they were not published until their correctness could be estab- 
lished, which course was continued until their reliability became too well 
confirmed to require the delay and expense attendant on such investigation. 

The objections frequently raised to the common and ilhterate messages 
sometimes given indicate a want of feeling and small spirituality on the 
part of the critic. An ancient medium did not deem the time wasted 
which he spent in comforting a poor woman at a well in Galilee, and, in 
the esteem of grand, philanthropic spirits, perhaps the message conveying 
comfort to a despairing mother or wife, even if clothed in uncouth lan- 
guage, may be considered as a greater service to humanity than many 
self-glorifying strainings for scientific reputation. . . . 

This one department of The Banner, founded by Luther Colby, is 
more worthy of being commemorated by an enduring monument than the 
acts of those whose lives have been glorified in proportion to their abihty 
to direct armies and slaughter men. 

Our friend was hampered in all his grand life-work, but he has passed 
beyond the fetters of materiahty, "entered into rest," the rest only to be 
found by one with his aspirations and honest earnestness of purpose in 
labors for the elevation of others, unfettered by conditions. 

Emma Hardinge Britten and her husband, William 
Britten, of England, put themselves on record as subjoined : 

To every Spiritualist throughout the world the Banner of Light has in 
some measure brought comfort, warning, instruction and good cheer — 



66 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

but it is only to such long-tried, personal friends as the writers of this ar- 
ticle that the human and personal worth of Luther Colby as a judicious 
friend, adviser — we might almost say "a Father in Israel" — was truly 
known. . . . During all trials, good, honest, brave-hearted Luther 
Colby steered the mighty ship of Spiritualism bravely and faithfully 
through all the shoals and reefs of internal, as well as external, storm and 
tempest into triumph and glory. We, the writers, both unite in the fer- 
vent wish that we had a hundred more Luther Colbys in our ranks ; 
while we send after him our fervent blessings and the confident assurance 
that in a few brief and transitory years of time we shall all meet again in 



The spacious grand plantation, 



where there will be 



No more desperate endeavors, 
No more separating evers, 
No more desolating nevers. 

Over there. 

Not very long after these kindly remembrances and heart- 
blessings were expressed, the noble woman, Emma Hardinge 
Britten, who has from the earliest days of the movement been 
a Colossus of spiritual power for the Cause, was called upon 
to say the inevitable earthly '' farewell " to Dr. Britten, who 
''passed beyond the veil," to ''the spacious grand plantation " 
in the Better Land. May God and angels guide the steps of 
his sorrowing widow, till she again shall meet her loved one 
"over there ! " 

Wm. Brunton, of Maiden, Mass., wrote the annexed in re- 
spectful memory : 

LUTHER COLBY. 

Good soul and blest, whose one delight and praise 

Was work for those who in high regions dwell ; 

Whose messages thy Banner brave would tell, 
And fill with golden light the passing days ; 
Upon thy work for years on years we gaze, 

So proud to see it grow and all excel; 

Brave veteran, thy work indeed is well, 
And of itself a monument will make ! 



TRIBUTES. 62 

Go to thy home on high ; all there are friends ; 

Glad welcome waits thy footsteps in that land ; 
Each worker here to thee his greeting sends. 

And by thy purposed aim would faithful stand : 
How blest was earth because of thy true love, 
More blessed yet for it the hfe above ! 

The angel-world is not so far from ours ; 

Through thee we learnt its friendliness divine ; 

Its dawning light upon our world did shine, 
Its kindly hands bestrewed our way with flowers : 
Thy soul pursued its path to Eden bowers, 

It heard sweet voices speak in tones benign, 

It knew what influences true entwine 
Our lives, what force of love their love empowers ! 
For all thy help to struggling truth and w^orth, 

For all thy sympathy in hours of need, 
For all the good thy labors brought to birth. 

We bless and praise thy honored name indeed ; 
And evermore the Cause the past will scan 
To prize thee, worker wise — true, noble man ! 

J. Frank Baxter, the widely-known platform test medium, 
singer and orator, on hearing of the decease of Mr. Colby 
wrote the appended, which was truly " A Medium's Tribute," 
and spoke the feelings of many of the army of public workers 
not here named : 

Taking up a paper, my eyes at once fell upon the announcement that 
our loved friend and arduous and devoted co-worker had left us. I was 
saddened, and somewhat surprised ; and yet, reall}', from his known con- 
dition and his ripe age, I was rather prepared. I had frequently of late 
thought and said : " Mr. Colby, I am afraid, is near the end of his useful 
career." Gone — yes! As the nuts from full maturity drop from the 
trees, so he, rich in worthy wisdom and full of years, has ripened to the 
completion of earth-need, and his interior being has passed on to the 
spiritual, leaving the useless case behind. We will tenderly lay the latter 
away ; but rich are our memories not only, but our treasures, for his hav- 
ing lived and we having known him. While we are more or less saddened 
to think his material presence is no more with us — so associated have we 
been with it — yet our knowledge makes us look philosophically upon this 



68 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

change called death, and to see in it an event in a continuous life of his 
spirit ; and leads us in thought and vision to follow that spirit to possible 
careers in the eternal realm. What a greeting must have been his ! 
What a rejoicing, after all ! 

At the Annual Convention of the Massachusetts State 
Association of Spiritualists held in Boston, at the First Spir- 
itual Temple (corner Newbury and Exeter Streets), January i, 
1895, the Committee on Resolutions on the transition of 
Luther Colby made the subjoined report (unanimously 
adopted ) at the afternoon session ( pubhshed in The Banner 
for January 5th) : 

Whereas : In the fulness of time and in accordance with natural law it 
has been the privilege of Luther Colby — the standard-bearer of Spir- 
itualism in America, the loyal and faithful friend of mediums, and the 
stanch advocate of the principles and truths of immortality as enunciated 
by communicating spirits from the Higher Life — to pass to the activities 
and enjoyments of the Spiritual World ; and realizing that in his removal 
the Cause of Spiritualism loses from the mundane sphere an indomitable 
worker, an earnest defender of Truth, and a financial supporter of 
mediums and laborers generally in the field of Spiritualism, according to 
his means ; therefore, be it 

Resolved : That the Massachusetts State Association, in convention 
assembled, this first day of January, 1895, places on record in its archives, 
and before the world, through the columns of the spiritual press, its deep 
and sincere regret at the material and intellectual loss it and the public 
have sustained in the transition of such a noble, unselfish and able advo- 
cate of the Cause we love as Luther Colby, the veteran editor of the 
Banner of Light. 

Resolved : That while we recognize that our loss is his gain, yet we feel 
that although others will carry on the work that he has laid down, and do 
so according to their own light, and in a manner creditable to Spiritualism 
and honorable to themselves, yet there can never be but one Luther Colby 
and that it will be many years before the Cause will rally from the effects of 
the loss sustained in the ascension of the venerable man we honor and lOve. 

Resolved : That these resolutions be placed on the records of the Mas- 
sachusetts State Association, and that a copy be furnished the Bamier 
of Light and other spiritual journals for publication. 

Mrs. R. S. Lillie, ^ 
Woodbury C. Smith, r Coininittee. 
Mrs. M. T. Longley, ) 



TRIBUTES. 69 

The veteran Spiritualist, William Foster, Jr., of Provi- 
dence, R. I., in speaking of the personal loss he felt in the 
transition of his old comrade, said : 

Our friendship covered a period of some twenty-five years ; and it was 
a friendship of the soul. Many have been our conferences at the National 
and Crawford Houses, extending far into the night ; also at the editorial 
rooms. At our first meeting he received me with warm cordiality, and as 
our acquaintance continued, I was stirred by the unselfishness of his 
nature, and his devotion to truth as he saw it. It was refreshing to com- 
mune with him ; there seemed to come a baptism of the spirit — an up- 
lifting into an atmosphere of a transcendental quality — the realm of the 
ethereal, which made life more radiant, and illumined the tomb with more 
than rainbow glories, because thereby the spirit passes into immortal life. 

I loved Luther Colby, as I ever did those large-hearted men who 
stood on the watch-towers, holdino; beacon-lights for the race. 



'&' 



G. W. Kates wrote : 

As the friend of mediums everywhere, he (Mr. Colby) will not lose any 
opportunity in spirit to extend sympathy and help. As a brother editor, 
the spiritual fraternity found him helpful ; especially so do we now pay 
tribute to his many kind and generous acts in aid of our work in editing 
Light for Thinkers some years ago in the South. 

Walter Howell wrote, on hearins: of the decease : 

Many hearts have been bereft of a sympathizing friend ; but our loss is 
his infinite gain, and while we mourn his departure from the world of 
sense, the world of souls rejoices in his new-born happiness ! . . . The 
sunlight of Luther Colby's spirit will continue to illumine the pages of 
X\\2it Banner of Light he \2LhoYQ.di so zealously to unfurl in this valley of 
shadows. May his mantle fall upon shoulders who shall wear it with 
honor to the cause he loved so well, and with reverence for him who has 
laid it aside forever. 

J. W. Fletcher expressed himself in the subjoined, and 
other sentences, when speaking of Mr. Colby's demise. 
After referring to the past history of the Cause, he said : 

The spirit-world was brought into relationship with the earth-world, and 
demanded that means could be employed by which the glad tidings of 



70 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

continued life could be given to humanity. At such a moment the Ban- 
ner of Light was unfolded to the breeze, and from that day until now it 
has been the advocate of j^ure, unadulterated Spiritualism, and heaven 
grant it may long continue as such. Luther Colby, Wm. Berry, Wm. 
White and Mrs. Conaxt are all names identiiied with its success; and 
the astute management of Isaac B. Rich, so many years associated with 
Mr. Colby, has done much to make that great journal what it is. 

A religion that is good to die by is worth having. So Spiritualism 
proved to Mr. Colby. 

J. J. Morse, the celebrated orator in trance, or normal con- 
dition, who during his first visit from England formed a life- 
long friendship for Mr. Colby, bore this testimony : 

Not many have enjoyed the privilege, as has the writer, of a personal 
and somewhat intimate acquaintance with the faithful and warm-hearted 
man who has lately ascended to the higher state. For nineteen years, less 
three months, there was a sustained friendship between us, since, to me, 
our memorable meeting in his Boston office, in January, 1875. Never has 
my opinion of the frank, honest, true-hearted man I found him, wavered. 

The wise counsel, the friendly guidance and practical friendship, be- 
stowed then and many times after, fix Luther Colby in my mind — as it 
must, and does, in all who knew him best — as a man whom it was a 
privilege to know ; as a friend whose friendship it was an honor to 
possess. 

While the matter has not been specially noted in the pre- 
ceding pages, Luther Colby was a scion of one of the oldest 
families in New England, of whom a correspondent to the 
Amesbitry News said some years since : 

Anthony Colby was the ancestor of all the various families of that name 
in this vicinity. The house and homestead of [the now deceased] Obadiah 
Colby, situated on Ferry Street, Amesbury, is the identical house and 
premises which Anthony Colby bought in 1654 of Thomas Macy, and has 
been held and occupied by his descendants down to the present time. 

Hudson Tuttle, in a memorial article, presented the fol- 
lov^ing sentences instinct with appreciative thought and 
spiritual significance : 



TRIBUTES. ;i 

He became an advocate of the new philosophy of life here and here- 
after when to do so required more than ordinary courage, and succeeded 
in making the journal in which he promulgated its principles respected in 
all civilized lands. It was ever held to the high ideal, representing the 
true spirit of Spiritualism — its divine, all-embracing charity, its justice 
and freedom from falliable judgment and personalities, its advocacy of 
principles above party or individual interests, its generous assistance of 
the weak and fearlessness of the powerful. 

Well do I remember a day we passed together at Chelsea Beach. The 
Banner had gone to press, and like a boy escaped from a hard task he un- 
bent for a day of rest he considered he had well earned. Full of pleas- 
antry, with quaint puns and observations, the day was only too short, and 
we tarried until the full moon arose out of the restless waves that sparkled 
in silver and flashed on the beach with the incoming tide. Then on the 
veranda of the hotel, looking out over the mystic ocean, so like that which 
laves the shores of earthly life, he gave me the story of the origin and 
growth of his journal, his burdens and trials, and with the most unbounded 
faith referred to the grand spirits who had it in charge. He was weak, 
and the at times opposing forces nearly crushed him, yet with the spirit- 
world holding up his arm he felt himself invincible. And who will deny 
this ? If the conduct of our lives is in accord with the highest spiritual 
teachings, and fitted to be companions of angels, we are led by them, no 
power on earth can turn us aside. . , . 

As I would rejoice at the coming of a ship into port from the tempestu- 
ous sea, I rejoice that after many years of devoted labor he has passed on 
to a higher plane, where the dreams of this life may become grand reali- 
ties. 

Mrs. a. B. Severance, for years renowned as a psychome- 
trist at White Water, Wis., and who had long enjoyed a per- 
sonal friendship with the deceased, wrote : 

Spiritualists throughout the world will unite in their sympathies, ex- 
pressed or unexpressed to the Banner of Light workers since the passing 
away of Brother Luther Colby. In the realm of spiritual thought 
his was a wonderful mind. As a friend to mediums there never lived a 
more true and faithful one. How honest, earnest and effectual his ser- 
vice has been ! His love and work for humankind will still continue. 

As our great spiritual toilers pass on to swell the ranks of grand and 
noble minds in spirit-life, others come in to fill their places, and the work 
will continue until all shall truly know that there is no death. 



72 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

Mrs. M. S. Townsend Wood wrote a poetic tribute to his 
memory, from which the subjoined stanzas are extracted : 



Mustered out of earth service to labors above ; 
And crowned with the blessings of Infinite Love ; 
How thousands will meet thee, and welcome thee there, 
Who have read in The Banner their answer to prayer ; 
Who have passed from the mortal and found it all true — 
That each 07te receives what in justice is due. 

■ The Banner of Light, oh ! long may it wave ; 
Sustained by true natures as earnest and brave 
As he who has gone from the scenes of earth-strife 
To join the grand army in spiritual life. 
May charity breathe through its pages to all, 
While love weaves the mantle that ever must fall 
O'er weak ones who struggle through sorrow and sin, 
Through the tempest of life with discords and din. 

Mustered out ; but we know he will work with us still. 

And help us each duty of life to fulfil. 

And will wave a new Banner from mansions above, 

With its motto of Peace, and its teachings of Love ; 

With its columns of messages, coming to bless, 

From our loved who have gone to that sweet land of rest. 

We mourn not to-day for this soldier so brave ; 

No spirit like his can be held by the grave, 

But onward and upward, forever and aye, 

He will march in the light of eternity's day ! 

Mr. and Mrs. Milton Rathbun spoke concerning the pas- 
sage of Mr. Colby to Higher Life : 

We could but rejoice that he had entered into his reward for so many 
years of faithful, efficient service in the cause of Spiritualism ; but with 
our joy for his promotion came sorrow for the loss of a loyal friend, a 
grand, untiring worker to advance the truth in all of its varied phases ; a 
defender of true mediums; a stanch supporter and helper of the op- 
pressed and downtrodden ; a kind, tender-hearted, sincere gentleman in 
all the walks of life. We had hoped that he might be spared to us years 



TRIBUTES. 73 

to come ; but for him we feel it is better as decreed, for his inheritance 
must be bright and abundant, because well earned by the unremitting and 
indefatigable labor and self-sacrifice of so many long years. 

May his mantle fall upon those who will cheerfully carry forward his 
life-work. May the brave old Banner increase in its power for good, in 
circulation, and reach eventually the remotest corners of the earth. We 
are sure that its influence will be fostered by our friend, who gladly re- 
sponded to the call, " Come up higher." May we all emulate his example 
in loyalty, fealty, industry, charity and good deeds. 

Fred. L. Hildreth, a noted worker in the Children's Pro- 
gressive Lyceum field, wrote a memorial to " Our Teacher, 
Luther Colby," from which the appended is excerpted. 

And so the soul that through the long, long years 

Stood first in Freedom's ranks — untrammelled, free ! 
Hath crossed the rainbow bridge to brighter lands : 

While, as our eyes peer 'cross the mystic sea, 
His feet tread onward up Progression's path. 

Toward the far summit, crowned with sweetest flowers 
Culled by his hands amid earth's weary hearts. 

And nurtured by his friends in angel bowers. 

So we must say good-night, but not good-by. 

To one who bore life's load with willing heart. 
The ties your noble deeds wove round our souls 

Are only changed — we cannot let them part ! 
Grand, fearless soul ! Life's mission well fulfilled — 

A ripened harvest in the long-drawn years : 
It would not dim the sunshine if my muse 

Brought flowers to your grave in place of tears. 

Good-night ! my friend — ■ the bells in angel lands 

Ring a glad peal, a welcome kind to you ; 
And your garb, worn while toiling here with us, 

Will change from earthly dark to brighter hue ! 
In many a land your dear old Banner waves. 

Bearing its buds of promise, sweet and bright : 
Your buds have bloomed, and many a swelling heart 

Bids you God speed ! and kindliest good-night ! 



74 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

Dr. E. a. Smith, President of the Queen City Park Camp 
Association, and the Vermont State SpirituaHst Association, 
wrote : 

From friends far and near the words of sympathy and love seem to 
come; and it is rare indeed that such a universal testimony is given to 
the worth and courage of one man, as well as the appreciation of his 
great work, and is in itself a proof of the hold he had on the affections 
and esteem of Spiritualists the world over. 

I have known Mr. Colby for many years, and I ever found him kind 
and courteous, always most willing to help any young society and give it 
a place and a name in his paper, and never refusing to publish anything 
that might assist the efforts of others in the great Cause he loved so well. 
I know that I voice the sentiments of every member of our State Asso- 
ciation, when I say that we mourn his loss as that of a dear friend and 
brother. And now honored and revered by all he has gone to that higher 
life and larger sphere of labor, full of years and honors ; yet we know he 
is with us still. 

His name is a household word wherever the Banner of Light is known 
and read, and though loving friends may erect marble tablets to his mem- 
ory, I think there can be no monument so fitting or so enduring as the 
pages of The Banner he so long and so nobly carried. 

Matilda Cushing Smith contributed to The Ba7iner, as 
her token to his memory, the following acrostic, dealing with 
the paper, the establishing and conducting of which had been 
Mr. Colby's life work : 

Bearer of comforting words of cheer, 
And joyous tidings from friends beyond ; 
Nearer to earth thou bringest heaven; 
Newly cemented love's severed bond. 
Ever new thoughts thou art sending forth, 
Rays to illumine the misty earth ; 

Out of the old, with constant care. 
Faithfully building temples rare ; 

Lifting men's burdens, and bringing light 
Into the homes once darker than night; 
Giving out knowledge of untold worth ; 
Heaven's own messenger, fearing naught; 
Truth's standard-bearer enlightening earth. 



TRIBUTES. 75 

S. H. Nelke wrote, regarding the labors of Mr. Colby 
and his co-worker, Mr. Rich, in the following appreciative 
manner : 

Any one who has followed the ups and downs of the Banner of Light 
must have become acquainted with the struggles of Mr. Luther Colby 
and his partner, Mr. Isaac B. Rich ; and those who were permitted to look 
behind the curtain know that the losses of the concern from time to time 
would in their extended history figure up to such an amount as would be 
surprising. 

If the readers of The Banne}" take this into consideration, it will surely 
stimulate them to thank Luther Colby, the man who had not alone the 
conviction but the courage to give to the world the truths of the ever- 
lasting life and love, in spite of all the opposition and losses he had to 
encounter. 

And so, readers, you, who are, indeed, mostly benefited by the pubhca- 
tion of the noble Baiuicr of Light, stand by this journal ; show your ap- 
preciation of the grand work of the noble founder, Luther Colby! Let 
no harm befall this great monument of truth and love ; stand shoulder to 
shoulder in support of it ! 

Annie Lord Chamberlain, the veteran physical medium, 
wrote : 

I feel his loss very keenly. He has ever been a true, kind friend to me. 
I first met him when I was only fifteen years old, and stopping at Dan- 
iel Farrar's. . He came there with Mr. William Berry, and I think Mr. 
William White also, to attend some of my seances. He was much pleased 
then, and has since always been an advocate of my mediumship. It 
seemed to please him, and I am glad it did. 

In the early days of his sickness he wrote me a kind letter from the 
Crawford House, which I shall always highly prize. 

He has done a good work, has been true and faithful, and now his 
spirit has gone where it will receive a just recompense. 

Luther Colby will never be forgotten. 

Alonzo Danforth wrote : 

Many are the encomiums called forth by the transition to spirit-life of 
our standard-bearer and co-worker, Luther Colby. Who has done 
more than he to prove the undeniable certainty of a continuous life, 
through the columns of the Banne?' of Light? Humanity is better for the 



y6 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

part he has taken in the life of this centur}-. We remember his integ- 
rity, his earnestness, his kindhness of heart, his fidelity to his friends. 
He had the courage to obey his conscience. He was possessed of the 
determination to do right because it was right. In moving in a straight, 
even though frequently an unpopular channel, it is easy to float with the 
current, but to breast it requires both strength and boldness, and these 
traits he possessed. 

May the life of Luther Colby be an example for our children ; may 
his name be kept in grateful remembrance by all who knew the work he 
accomplished, and when we read the shining list of the honored names of 
those who fought the good fight bravely and well, Luther Colby's 
name shall not be missed. 

H. A. BuDiNGTON wrote : 

A long career of eminent worth on earth has ended. There are heroes 
and heroes. To espouse an extremely unpopular truth, because new, in 
the face of society's sneer, and to stand true to it, through long years of 
hate, contempt and social ostracism, stamps any man or woman a hero of 
the loftiest kind. 

The revelations of spirit-communion are so strong a corrective of the 
prevailing religions of this planet, that the mind educated in the tradi-- 
tions of the past could not at first accept them. Only the few of the most, 
receptive attitude early perceived their naturalness. Brother Colby,. 
with admirable courage and noble self-sacrifice of worldly praise, was one 
of 'the first to accept and to proclaim openly the New Philosophy. 

What struggles he had with obtuse or obstinate bigots. What a gigan- 
tic task to keep the Banner of Light at the masthead, in such a sea of 
opposition ! But he w^on ! And how glorious will be his life in the 
hisfher world. He has now gone where his devotion and his labors will 
be appreciated. 

The Veteran Spiritualists' Union at a meeting held 
October lOth at Gould Hall, Boston, adopted the following in 
7ne7noriam^ the same being presented by President Storer : 

The Veteran Spiritualists' Union, by unanimous vote, hereby enter upon, 
their records this memorial tribute to the life, character and usefulness of 
our brother, Luther Colby, the veteran editor of the Banner of Eighty 
and a life member of this Association. 

For nearly forty years his editorship of that journal, devoted to the 



TRIBUTES. yy 

advocacy and illustration of Spiritualism, has made it an authority upon 
all phases of the phenomena, and the scope of its philosophy. Not only 
the valuable articles from his own pen, but those which his able advocacy 
of the subject attracted from the most intelligent sources, have created 
a public opinion in its favor throughout America, and in distant lands. 

Our brother was distinguished for the simplicity of his life, his genial 
manners, and the sympathetic interest which he felt for the poor and des- 
titute. Above all other interests, he held that the promulgation of the 
knowledge of man's inherent immortality, the intimate relations of mortals 
and spirits, based upon the identity of human needs, and the interdepend- 
ence of each upon all, in a natural order of evolution, was the most impor- 
tant knowledge that the mind can grasp.' To this work his life was devoted. 

We recognize our loss of his visible presence, but rejoice in his transla- 
tion to a higher sphere of existence where those who are allied in thought 
and purpose form the happy spheres of the spiritual life. 

Ed. S. Varney wrote : 

Allow me to express my deepest sympathy for the loss sustained by the 
paper, as well as by the entire spiritualistic world, in the passing away of 
our tried and true standard-bearer, Luther Colby. 

Yet, thanks be to the angel world, you and I, as Spiritualists, know 
that " to die is gain," and that Mr. Colby aftsr a long Hfe of good deeds 
in the body, has passed on to the land of joy and reunion, fully ripened 
for the beautiful, heavenly harvesting that awaits him. 

For my part, no words can fitly express what he has been to me ; in 
soul development ; in sorrow, assuagement ! But his priceless Baiuier^ 
which I shall always take, will keep his dear memory forever fresh. 

Sarah A. Byrnes wrote : 

What a glad welcome his spirit must have had as he entered his spirit- 
home ! What he felt as a knowledge of spirit-life must have had a glori- 
ous revelation for him. We know he has earned a generous reward, and 
we will make oicr faith as steadfast as he desired his should be — truly 
ripened for the harvest of the new life. 

Jennie B. Hagan-Jackson said : 

I do not write an expression of regret that the kind-hearted man, 
Luther Colby, has gone home ; for I know the deeds of love and charity 
he performed have all been placed to his credit in the land whither he has 
gone. 



78 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

Prof. Alexander Wilder, on learning of Mr. Colby's 
demise, wrote to The Banner a memorial in which occurred 
the following outspoken and highly appreciative sentences : 

It took me by surprise ; I had never reflected that such a thing could 
occur. He had seemed to me a perennial character, to whom there 
might be autumn and winter, but certainly would always be a spring- 
time. So far as I knew him, he was awake to criticise whatever he felt 
to be wrong and oppressive ; and on the alert to point out danger, but 
never vindictive, unkind or unforgiving. 

As an editor I admired him for his sagacity, tact and excellent sense. 
While making a journal adapted to the tastes and minds of the readers, 
he was always aiming at the same time to exalt them to higher views and 
conceptions of the true and the right. 

The Banner^ in his hands, was the vigorous adversary of abuses and 
wrongs in the department of government and general affairs. Oppres- 
sive legislation [medical and otherwise] was pointed out, both as to its 
imminence and resultant mischiefs. ... 

I honor him, too, for his repeated utterances against the vaccination 
enormity. I leave it for those dear to him to praise him as they 
knew him : I speak for his effort in behalf of pure blood and pure 
bodies. The bow of Jonathan turned not back ! 

Verily it seems as if the nineteenth century as it is passing to its mid- 
night, is carrying with it its representative men ; those who gave form to 
its advancing thought seem to be almost all of them departed. In the 
world of letters, from Hugo to Holmes, the stalwart ones are gone ; the 
able men of our American politics, whom we have looked to for a half 
century, are mostly in their graves ; of the anti-slavery galaxy only 
Parker Pillsbury, and one or two others, are still here ; and so we may 
pass around the circle. 

In all reformatory matters Luther Colby always spoke manfully. 
Peace to his name. May he prove to have been but an Elijah, to be 
speedily followed by an Elisha, endowed by a double portion of the pro- 
phetic spirit with ability while exterminating the house of Ahab to save 
our Israel for a better career. 




WILLIAM BERRY, 

CO-FOUNDER OF THE BANNER. 



Mr. Berry was First Lieutenant of the "Andrew Sharpshooters," at- 
tached to the Fifteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. He was killed 
at the Battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, 1S62, aged 37 years. He was 
co-worker with Mr. Colby in the establishment of the Baiiner of Light, and 
continued as its business manager till he joined the service of his country in 
the Civil War. As a manifesting spirit intelligence he often made his pres- 
ence known, and wrote through the hand of Mr. Colby frequent messages^ 
that were of much comfort and encouragement to him (C). 



THE AWAKENING. 8 1 



THE AWAKENING. 

The subjoined poem was contributed to The Banner hy its 
authoress, Mrs. Kate R. Stiles, with the explanation that 
while writing it she felt strongly the inspiration of an intelli- 
gence claiming to be spirit Luther Colby. The symbolic 
picture it conveys is restful indeed to earth-weary hearts. 

I slept and as I slept I dreamed. 
Or thus unto my sense it seemed. 
And in my dream methought I stood 
Once more in the familiar wood, 
Where oft I wandered as a child. 
Again I plucked the blossoms wild 
That grew within the wooded dell. 
I sensed again their fragrant smell, 
And, as I oft had done before, 
A handful of these blooms I bore 
Unto the old home, standing near, 
To glad the heart of mother dear. 
Busied about her household cares, 
I thought to greet her unawares 
With the sweet treasures of the wood ; 
I tripped along in happy mood — 
Across the meadow, through the lane. 
Humming an old familiar strain. 
The sun was setting, and its rays 
Fell lengthwise, as in olden days. 
Across the sanded kitchen floor, 
And as I crossed the threshold o'er, 
Thinking my mother to surprise, 
I met her tender, loving eyes. 
And heard her say in sw^eetest tone, 
" Welcome, my darling son, my own." 
Oh ! the delightful sense of rest, 
As, folded to my mother's breast, 
I gazed once more upon her face. 
My joy to questioning gave place, 



83 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY, 

So strange, so very strange, did seem 
That which I still did think a dream. 
" Tell me," I cried, "my mother dear, 
Is it indeed your voice I hear ? 
Is it indeed your face I see ? 
Or will this vision fade from me 
And carry with it all this joy ? 
Oh ! call me once again your boy, 
And tell me that this blessed rest, 
This sense of peace within my breast, 
Shall not depart, and leave me still 
A weary pilgrim, weak and ill." 
My mother did to me respond 
In accents musical and fond : 
" My child, earth's weariness and pain 
Will ne'er return to you again ; 
Henceforth your spirit shall be free. 
An heir of Immortality." 

While thus she spake I sensed the change ■ 

My vision took a broader range. 

And I beheld a concourse great. 

Of friends with faces all elate. 

Whose words of welcome and of cheer, 

Fell like sweet music on my ear. 

Some laid fresh blossoms at my feet. 

Some with bright banners came to greet. 

And all seemed jubilant and glad ; 

And naught was there to make one sad. 

Yet did a sense to pain akin. 

Which well I knew came from within. 

Sweep o'er my spirit, and I knelt 

In deep contrition, for I felt 

Myself unworthy of the songs 

And greetings of the heavenly throngs. 

Then did a spirit o'er me bend, 
Saying — " Arise ! arise, my friend ! 
Here all are worthy to receive. 
The love that we so freely give ; 
This concourse vast, that you now see. 
Have all been mortals, friend, like thee ; 



THE AWAKENING. 83 

Each understands the pain and strife, 
Attendant on an earthly life. 
Each in the struggle for life's good, 
Has oft, no doubt, misunderstood 
The path that led to life's true gain ; 
All souls mistake, and suffer pain, 
And none are wise enough to know 
How much of good they really owe 
Unto the errors and mistakes 
Which every earthly pilgrim makes. 
So rise, my friend, and stand erect. 
Nor one experience reject ; 
Some good from each you yet shall see — 
Arise, and stand erect and free." 

Then from my knees I rose — and, lo ! 
A garment white and pure as snow 
Was by the angel o'er me thrown ; 
" Wear it," he said, " it is thine own ; 
Into its warp and woof is spun 
The good that you on earth have done. 
Each kindly deed, each good intent, 
Each purpose of your life, well meant. 
Though unfulfilled, is noted here. 
And cherished in life's higher sphere." 

Oh ! what delight within me stirred 

As I did listen to the word 

Of love and kindly sympathy. 

The angel thus bestowed on me. 

My spirit now no longer quailed 

At thought that I so oft had failed 

To do the task to me assigned. 

A new resolve possessed my mind : 

A resolution that henceforth 

My life should prove of greater worth. 

Then to my angel guide I said, 

" While earthly friends proclaim me dead, 

I feel I have but just begun 

The course of life, true life, to run." 



84 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

The angel to my words replied, 
" Go back to earth, and seek to guide 
The minds of mortals toward the right. 
Raise high Truth's Banner, that its light 
Full many a pilgrim soul shall see, 
And be from error's chains set free." 

Then did the angel say, " Farewell," 
Yet still remained the magic spell 
That o'er my spirit had been cast, 
A spell too full of joy to last. 

I lingered for a little time 
Among these spirit scenes sublime, 
But mortal life enthralled me still, 
My earthly longings ruled my will, 
And bare me backward to the earth, 
Where I had had my mortal birth. 

To friends familiar I drew nigh, 
Some saw me, and did give reply 
Unto my greeting as Lcame, 
To such my coming seemed the same 
As erst it seemed in days before. 
When I my earthly garment wore. 
Others there were to whom I spake 
On whom I could no impress make ; 
Deaf were they to my strong appeal. 
They could not see, nor could they feel 
■ My presence, and I turned away. 
Saddened in heart for such as they 
Who know not that their loved ones wait, 
And call them through affection's gate, 
Which death can never, never, close. 
Oh ! angels, pity, pity those, 
" Who hopeless lay their dead away," 
And know not whither they do stray. 

To bring the light to such as these, 
This be my mission still, God please ; 
For this great truth, dear friends, be brave, 
For this let the dear Bamier wave, 



THE RECEPTION IN SPIRIT-LIFE. 85 

Let its pure folds gleam like a star, 
To guide earth's pilgrims near and far, 
Unto that Truth destined to be 
The Savior of humanity. 



THE RECEPTION IN SPIRIT-LIFE. 

'' OuiNA," the brilliant, piquant, and yet thoughtful guide of 
that noted medium, Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond (whom the 
spirit denominates "Water-Lily"), contributed to the same 
journal the appended narration of the welcome extended Mr. 
Colby in the Higher Life : 

How rejoiced we all were, on the spirit side of life, when 
we saw that at last the noble chief [Colby] was to be set 
free. He had suffered so much in his body, and his mind had 
been so often disturbed of late, that we knew the transition 
would bring great release. 

Little do mortals know (or realize if they know) what it is 
to be enfranchised from the limitations of time and sense. 

We had all watched over and tried to relieve his sufferings 
— I mean "Tululu" (Mrs. Fannie Conant), Vashti, Dr. Pike, 
the Indian " medicine men," Dr. Rush, and all of the Colby- 
chief's " children " (the spirit-messengers whom he had adopted 
as his own), when the Willis chief (Fred. L. H. Willis, who was 
with him much during the last days) was trying to help and 
soothe him. 

We knew how he would be missed ; but there is always a 
lessening of the seeming importance of human places, and 
even duties, under the great stress and urgency of the mighty 
angel who comes to disenthrall. 

He alone, of whom this is written, knows his own inner 
preparation for this yielding up of the strong fortress in 
earth-life, in which he had fought the battle for truth from 



86 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

the ramparts of his own integrity, strengthened ever by the 
unseen, yet palpable ones, who loved him because of his 
devotion to the truth of Spiritualism. 

With a strong nature, engaged in a work in earth-life that 
is paramount, and accustomed for twoscore years to wield the 
instrument more mighty than the sword in a cause most sa- 
cred, it is not strange if at the gateway of the Change called 
Beautiful there was a struggle, like that of the meeting and 
hesitation, of the incoming and outgoing tides, the ebbing and 
flowing of the life-forces of an impulsive, turbulent, impetu- 
ous, child-like, generous, loving and noble heart. 

But it came, the Great Supreme, and he was free and aware. 

Oh ! how I wish you could know — you, dear heart, who 
may be reading this with eyes dimmed with tears of sorrow, 
blind, earthly, but tender, human sorrow — what this release 
really is. Happily, perhaps, human beings dread and shrink 
from for themselves, and mourn when it comes to others, the 
one Supreme Benefaction of existence ; otherwise earth could 
not retain them. 

Now it had come ! He wants me here to say that he never 
for one instant lost consciousness — either of where he was in 
bodily form, of what was transpiring in the room with the 
house of clay, or of what was passing in his own experience. 
Just as he was when the kind friends in earth-form stood 
around, so he was, as far as consciousness was concerned, 
when he recognized the added company into which he was ad- 
mitted by added perception. 

That which transpired before us all, and of which he was 
the most conscious, was truly remarkable : there was an in- 
stantaneous sloughing off of every pain, care, vexation, weak- 
ness, trouble ; I never saw a spirit that had suffered so much 
from these afflictions in the body, so absolutely and instanta- 
neously freed. His spirit sprang into his new existence as an 
acrobat might leap from a prison of paper, or a giant, aroused, 
might spring from gyves of straw. The vigor, fervor, faith in 
humanity, hopes of youth, all came forth, illumining and 



VALE / d,7 

transfiguring him instantly ! The exclamation was like a 
prayer of thankfulness that escaped from him, " I feel as 
young as I did fifty years ago ! " What is thanksgiving but 
the grateful recognition of blessings ? 

" Tululu " was first to meet him in special recognition ; 
then one by one he perceived his friends and guides, accord- 
ing to their spiritual nearness. We wreathed for him those 
priceless flowers from our home, of which he had fashioned 
such an abundance ; flowers of the kind deeds ; acts of be- 
nevolence unseen of mortals ; true generosity in loving and 
giving. Ah ! how his spirit humbly and as a child received 
this tender ministration. Through whatever scenes with 
friends of childhood days, guided by mother love and pater- 
nal joy; through whatever reunion of sacred friendships, un- 
sullied, undimmed by time ; through the meeting and min- 
gling with those who were his own, we may not follow : Spirits 
who in outward life have been as true and unswerving as was 
he to his convictions, find their own without any intervening 
shadow. . . . 

Those who have aided him in spreading the gospel of Spir- 
itualism, who have watched and guarded the unfurling of The 
Banner from week to week ; those who have prompted, led, 
checked him (when needed) during those years of service for 
truth, have no need to make room or place for him in their 
counsels. He is one of them ! 



VALE ! 

This brief compendium of historic record, personal memory 
and loving tribute is done ! Of the imperfections of the work 
— judged from the standpoint of those who have abundant 
leisure, and quiet conditions for reflective thought — its author 
is painfully aware ; but it has been necessarily prepared dur- 
ing such hours of leisure as were available in the evening and 



88 MEMORIAL OF LUTHER COLBY. 

on the Sabbath — his many and pressing duties as editor of 
the Banner of Light being held by him as sacredly demanding 
the entire working hours of the week for their discharge. 

As the Jews repaired the walls of Jerusalem, when return- 
ing from captivity, with the alternate use of the sword of de- 
fence and the trowel' of upraising, so these pages have grown 
till they meet the perusal of the public ; from his readers the 
author asks a kindly remembrance of this fact. He feels as 
one who ''plasters his swallow's nest upon an awful past," yet 
while its Alpine-glow remains — and cheered by the knowledge 
that the Spiritual Revelation brings — he would say in con- 
clusion in the words of another : 

" The presence of that companion, 
Though we never may see again, 
Shall spread deep roots like the banyan 
And its perfume shall remain. 

" O friends, we are blundering blindly, 
Like men in a mist of tears — 
That presence so true and kindly 
We shall meet in coming years / 



So, close up the ranks, my brothers 
And with hearts too high to fail 

Let us say ' Farewell ' — while the others 
On the brighter side cry 'All Hail! ' " 



Vy^ /v *'- 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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